Cloned Tiberium
by Luke Danger
Summary: New intellegence discovered on the 3rd Tiberium War hints that GDI would of fallen against the Scrin and Nod if not for one Commander and previously unknown help from the Steel Talons and ZOCOM... and that the Commander had suprising origins.
1. Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Explosion

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Explosion**

As of November 18th, 2009, the following copyright data is in effect:

The Command & Conquer series is owned by EA,

Star Wars owned by Lucas Arts

I own pretty much squat here, other than a few minor original characters.

_**FORWARD:**_ _This fanfic's chronology takes place approximately in and around the 3rd Tiberium War in C&C chronology. For the Star Wars aspect (two-three characters depending on how things go), the 'vanish' takes place before either A: the characters Ahsoka Tano and/or Captain Rex get killed, or B: the series ends, and for the sake of keeping stuff from being weird, assume that Einstein tampering with the Time stream in C&C Red Alert also erased Star Wars from ever existing. For continuity, C&C Red Alert is also used as 'flavor cannon' per se, as the Chronosphere is important for the back-story._

_This fanfic will refer directly to units in the game, such as the Predator Tank, Zone Troopers, and similar. There will be 'Epic Digressions' to explain more of the back story that EA or Westwood has not explained for C&C continuity (For example, how Tiberium = money in the economic sense, unit 'construction', etc.), so please, when reading these epic digressions, pretend you're reading something like the Iliad or other Homeric works, and the fact I'm trying to adapt characters from a TV series to a Real Time Strategy game, and thus reality is slightly... whacked, in transition._

_Also, expect the 'Tech Tree' to be sliced around a bit for plot reasons (IE, a Mammoth Tank or Rail Guns might be available when in-game they aren't available yet, but only if there is nothing saying that the technology wasn't built yet), and the in-game cinematic will have additional lines and scenes added for plot purposes._

_The story will, for the most part, follow the GDI Campaign of C&C 3: Tiberium Wars (owned by EA), with references to the Nod campaigns (C&C 3 AND Kane's Wrath)._

_Enjoy the story._

_**Chapter 1: The Calm before the Explosion**_

_GDI EVA System, June, 2047_

A GDI Commander accesses his Electronic Video Assistant's databank, and punched in several keys. The symbol of GDI, a bird of prey streaking down on a target, claws outreached, appeared on the screen, and then came the voice of a woman, obviously generated by an artificial source.

**Philadelphia Uplink Successful**

**Welcome Back, Commander**

**Today's Risk of Nod attack:**

**Low**

"_The state of the planet is deteriorating. Tiberium Infestation has reached critical levels. Red zones have suffered the worst and cannot support human life." _

"_Yellow zones are dangerously contaminated, but contain most of the world's population. Decades of war and civil unrest has left this region dangerously unstable and in a state of social collapse. Nod operates virtually unchallenged in these zones. Here they take advantage of the chaos to recruit members and disguise their military infrastructure. Nod's leader is a charismatic figure known only as Kane. Kane is determined to accelerate Tiberium growth, believing it to be the catalyst of the next stage of Human Evolution .However, in recent years, the Brotherhood has been suspiciously quiet, with little terrorist activity." _

"_The remaining 20% of the world is unscarred by Tiberium outbreak. These Blue Zones are considered the last refuge and hope of the civilized world, and are under the direct protection of the Global Defense Initiative. You assigned command of the GDI forces stationed on the North Seaboard, of the United States."_

_**Good Luck, Commander.**_

**Commander,** EVA reported, **You have two unread messages.**

"Put the first one up." The commander said.

Joshua Mitchell, leader of the GDI Steel Talons, an experimental division focusing on mechanized warfare with battlemechs, had sent him a message.

"Ah, Rex. Good to know that GDI's put a competent commander in the Northern Seaboard. No, the good ol' _Titans_ are not up to those damn Bureaucrats' 'standard' because we haven't figured out how to deal with commandos trying to blow them up and how to get a cheap replacement for the Gyro-Stabilizer, a key part to keep those babies walking correctly and not toppling over from the heavy weight. I know how much you loved those babies during your time with us, and I'd give anything to have you under my wing again, but the General knows what he's doing. If I can ever get you some support, the _Titians_ of the Steel Talons are always handy for you. Least we can do after Nod's toying around with the Chronosphere yanked you from your friends and family to our world."

**Commander,** EVA reported, **You have one unread message.**

"Put it up." Rex said.

General C. Elena Renteria, the leader of ZOCOM (Zone Operations COMmand) had also left him a message.

"No, Commander Rex, I am not clearing you for Sonic Emitters, Shatterers, or any other pieces of our Harmonic Resonance technology. I know you want to personally get out there contain Tiberium to stop it from destroying the world in the Yellow Zones you may happen to wind up in during your ops, but that tech is _not_ cheap, and handing them to a _Talon_ is not ZOCOM policy. If you want Harmonic Resonance technology, reassign to ZOCOM and get out of the testing field for those old scrap piles and start getting rid of Tiberium. I don't care if you're heading into a Tib-infested Yellow Zone or even a Red Zone on one of your Talon ops; the sonic tech isn't available for you Talons."

Rex sighted, rubbing his chin, finding some subtle he missed last shave. He never got along overmuch with Renteria, she was too hi-tech for him, even though he thought the GDI walkers were of a hell-lot higher tech then the tread tanks GDI's standard was, and even those Sonic emitters (though he had to admit, seeing them shatter and disintegrate Tiberium was quite impressive). Mitchell on the other hand was his GDI mentor, helping him get used to GDI's tech and the fact Rex was able to assemble some things right on the battlefield (something he found was much better than having to build bases the old-fashioned way), and taught him good old GDI honor and traditions. He personally had tested a number of experimental Titans, the old main battle walker of GDI, which had gone out of service due to the high costs, and the little (for Bureaucrats) issue of Nod's commandos strapping bombs to the legs.

Admittedly, the Titians were now far better than what they were, and much more able to stop any C4 from getting strapped to the legs, but still, the paper-pushers still wouldn't mass produce the design, even though it was compatible with all of GDI's newest tech for tanks, Rail Guns included, and had even allowed the Talons to figure out how to get the Guardian base defense cannons to work with Rail Guns. ZOCOM's pushing had also kept the Steel Talons from getting involved in anything beyond testing their equipment, and blowing up Nod raiders in the way of ZOCOM when their troops either didn't have the numbers, or wanted some heavy-armor escort. Mitchell had, several times, pressed for access to Zone Troopers, GDI's heaviest infantry, but ZOCOM prevented them from it because they wanted all soldiers armed for Red Zones to be available for fighting Tiberium, not for field testing, in General Renteria's words, "Piles of junk that belong in a museum", despite the fact the Talon's were doing action in Red Zones and heavily infested Yellow Zones in pursuit action against Nod, using their Titians, Wolverines, and Behemoths to quite good effect.

Commander Rex, once Clone Captain of the Grand Army of the Republic, now a GDI Commander, packed up his suitcase (containing his stripped-down, recently modified DC-15 Rifle), checked his dual pistols (which, fortunately, used a minor liquid Tiberium compound that could simulate Liquid Tibana from home), and decided to go to his new 'shiny' office in the Pentagon.

He pondered what EVA had said InOps had classified Nod's threat… Low. It wasn't right… Nod wouldn't be hiding, not when Tiberium was beginning to dominate the world. While he had come to this Earth via an accident with old, yet dangerous tech, he certainly knew Nod had the same determination rating as the Seps.

Ahsoka Tano walked up to him, her new lightsaber hanging on her belt. While certainly she preferred her old outfit, GDI regulations had her wearing a uniform, especially since she was a commissioned GDI Commando (all of whom were Lieutenants at the least so they outranked the common soldiers), the youngest GDI commando ever, in fact. She wore similar clothes to GDI's riflemen, sans the headgear, since she wasn't active in the field of combat. _So glad we were able to cover up the fact she's not even human with this Tiberium radiation stuff… guess someone's looking after us after all._ "So Lil'un, guess GDI's sending us to "the Pentagon", wonder if it really is a Pentagon."

"Shame Tiberium got the server for Wikipedia, sure helped in getting used to stuff around here." Ahsoka said.

"I heard it was unreliable to a certain degree, and the InOps databank isn't much better; sure you heard the saying about on a good day…"

XXXXX

**GDI Central Command**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

General Jack Granger, veteran of the Second Tiberium War and the Firestorm Crisis, was waiting for him, watching his Command Screen.

"Commander Rex." He said at last. "General Jack Granger. Glad to have you on board…. These…. are… interesting times. Don't know if you know it, but InOps downgraded Nod's threat level to Low. With Kane apparently dead, Nod's been fractured by internal power struggles, recruitment is down 25%, and they've abandoned four major bases in prominent yellow zones that ZOCOM is interested in last year as of today. The prediction, by those paper-pushing bureaucrats, is another decade of peace, allowing us to destroy and contain Tiberium at a much faster rate. As much as I'd like to believe that, I say different. I say it's the calm before the storm."

He walked over to the exit of his office, GDI's banner, an eagle streaking down at a target (commonly said to be Nod or similar evils). General Granger sighed.

"After 28 years of fighting Nod, there's one thing I know for certain. As long as there is Tiberium on Earth, Nod is a serious threat to us. If our Intel says otherwise, it's because Nod wants us to take them of their radar."

He moved back to the screen, which was showing a flaming truck.

"That's why I'm sending you to North Carolina, Yellow Zone Y-6. Zone Security stopped what looked to be a… produce delivery truck the other day but it turned out to be a Nod vehicle. Before we could search it, the driver blew it up, himself along with it. I want you to take some troops down there, see what you can turn up. Hopefully, I'm wrong and this is just a false alarm."

A young woman of what Rex guessed to be Asian descent walked in (though, he had always been bad with Earth's humans when it came to their heritage); General Granger stopped, and glanced at her as she came up.

"But if I'm right, be prepared for the worst. This is Lt. Sandra Telfair. She's from InOps. She'll give you all the details of the mission. Don't worry, she's one of the InOps agents who can tell you not only Tiberium is green any day, but also that there's a blue variation and a whole lot more about anything we got in our databank. Lieutenant." Granger nodded, and left.

"Thank you," Sandra said, grinning from the joke Granger had made, and then went to take a seat in her desk. Rex moved in front of it (as he had been leaning on the chair). "Hello Commander. Glad to be of service."

She typed a few things into her computer, and said, "Here's what we know so far. After the delivery truck incident, we turned SkySentry onto the area. And bingo, we located a high output sub-terra energy grid… in the middle of nowhere. Obviously Nod's up to no good. You're ace in the hole is an old GDI base in the area. Bring it back online, and you can use it to recon the entire area. My advice is to engage the enemy only if necessary. No telling what those maniacs are hiding down there. Good luck commander, if you need me, I'm here."

"Got it, Lieutenant." Rex said. _So much for my shiny new office._ He thought. _Well, I always lead from the front. And even if they do strap me to a desk at some point, I bet Ahsoka would be more than willing to battle-lead in my place._

XXXX

While on the way, Rex read some Intel on the area. He was in a recolored version of his armor, still carrying the 501st blue, but instead of Clone Trooper white, it had a fresh coat of GDI combat green, and had the Steel Talon's symbol, a bird of prey streaking down on a target much more directly, quite similar to the older GDI symbol, on his shoulder plate. Rex personally liked the white better, but hey, it was their planet, their army, their regulations.

GDI had apparently abandoned the base due to resource allocation away from the military and keeping Nod busy (which was critical for Yellow Zone ops where Nod has presence in more than a couple Militants and the occasional Confessor, but Scorpion Tanks, Flame Tanks, or worse), and the resources went towards building… one extra sonic emitter for Tiberium Containment in London… when the Blue Tiberium which was overly common in the area was already contained by a state-of-the-art walls and a couple mobile sonic emitters that, while not usable for combat yet, were more than enough to keep Tiberium contained. (Although ZOCOM was reported to be working on combat "Shatterers" based off of the Sonic Emitter tech).

XXXXX

**North Carolina Badlands**

**Yellow Zone Y-6**

"Good to be off normal patrol duty." Said GDI Sergeant McCarthy, leading one of the Rifle Squads Rex had brought along for the initial scouting. "Awaiting orders, Commander."

Rex nodded. "Let's get to the base then"

Several engineers landed in another V-35 Ox transport. "We're the Hardhats with Handguns." One of them said to one of the questioning Riflemen, after said engineer had revealed the heavy-duty handguns the Steel Talon engineers carried.

"I assume General Mitchell didn't want me to be off on my own mission without a little Talon help then?" Rex asked, positively amused.

"Yep. That, and we aren't letting you bring in those defenseless guys to a fight, no need for 'em to get killed uselessly. Let's see, base is just up ahead…"

A few minutes later, they came up on the base, and, just as predicted, abandoned, most of the structures showing wear and tear from the elements. Rex glanced at the graffitied wall, and shook his head. Some over-eager Nod Militant had scribbled, in horribly written English, "GDI sucks".

"How mature." One of the Riflemen commented.

"About as mature as that one," another pointed out, to one which read "General McNeil is a woman".

There was much more graffiti, but most of it too vulgar to put in a fanfic Rated T for Teen.

"Hmmm. Check the locks on the base, make sure Nod didn't make off with any of the equipment." Rex said, heading into the base.

"Forget that, Militants, inbound!" Ahsoka shouted, igniting her lightsaber.

"Cover, NOW!" Rex shouted, diving for cover as the other Riflemen dove for their own. Laying down heavy suppressive fire on the horde of Militants, they mowed the down one by one as Ahsoka intercepted their bullets with her lightsaber, even the Combat Engineers got some kills with their heavy-duty handguns. While it did not deflect them back, the heat from the lightsaber was enough to disintegrate the bullets so utterly and prevent any damage being done by them. Rex honestly missed deflecting rounds back at the enemy.

The last Militant finally dropped dead, Ahsoka having leapt over the lines of fire, and impaling him in the chest.

"Kane Lives!" the Militant shouted, just before he dropped dead.

The Riflemen looked at each other and nodded, and, which Rex, from his experience with the Clones, knew was one of a smirk. The Sergeant then shouted, "KD on three! One, Two, THREE!"

Then, "KANE'S DEAD!" shouted the rest of the Riflemen in a loud tone mocking the Nod cry "Kane Lives".

Several rockets and a tank shell flew over from across the river, and from the other side a chorus of angry shouts and curses were heard.

"Looks like you woke them up…" Rex commented as the Riflemen quickly cleared buildings, "Right, base secured. Engineers, get the base up and running again, let's reconnect."

The engineers got into the base's Command Post and got to work. The buildings got back to work once more. From the base's Tiberium refinery, an old harvester was fixed up and sent to the nearby Tiberium field, with wreckage of what looked like an old Tiberium Spike nearby.

Rex's helmet EVA system chimed in, saying, **"Base is now online. MCV is incoming to facilitate extra base construction as required."**

A large truck-like vehicle, a Mobile Construction Vehicle, or MCV in GDI military parlance, rolled in, and deployed, transforming into a building, the Construction Yard, or ConYard in GDI military parlance.

"**Commander,"** EVA reported, **"We need a barracks so we can house our Infantry."**

"Right away." Rex reported. "Oi! Stevenson!" Rex shouted towards the Construction Yard's officer, "Get a barracks ready pronto!"

A minute later, the barracks was, literally, assembled in the record time of 4 seconds deployment once a truck sped out towards the location and put out the prefabricates that were prepared, once done, the prefabricates, using a oddly intelligent AI, automatically assembled into what it was designed to build. The Construction Yard was an amazing piece of engineering, Rex had to admit. It was able to field-assemble a lot of buildings that he'd need, the GDI one using a modular facility that was well stocked with variable parts that could be used for most of the buildings any GDI commander would need to establish, then having them transported very quickly to the location and assembled most often even quicker. Rex had to admit, being able to get heavy, automated defenses up was quite handy, but the need to establish a base within very little time was quite handy.

"Hey Rex," Stevenson shouted, "EVA just told me we got some reinforcements coming in. Given that we might be here for a while, I assume I should slap up a second barracks so we have room?"

"By all means, Stevenson." Rex responded.

"Alright, use your EVA connection in the future Commander, let me update the link."

Several V-35 Ox transports landed as the second barracks was built. Several GDI Rifle squads came out of the transports and reported for duty. EVA automatically set bunk assignments and updated the squad leaders on the objectives. A few went in to put some personal effects or such into the barracks before coming out, but otherwise, most of them got a feel for the surroundings.

"_FANATICS! INCOMING!" _shouted one of the Riflemen suddenly, who opened fire. And sure enough, a group of Nod's 'Fanatics', kamikaze soldiers who leapt onto their targets and blew up the target with a couple Tiberium-based hand grenade. Fortunately, they had to be right next to the target to blow, and it had to be detonated by the Fanatic. If they got mowed down dead first, they'd die harmlessly to GDI's forces.

Unfortunately, these ones had gotten close enough before charging that despite the rifle fire pouring down on them, they slammed into the weakened power plant, the engineer inside leaping out of the door just as the entire thing fell apart.

"Damned Fanatics!" cursed the engineer.

Rex muttered, pulling up his Heads-up-Display in his helmet, and sent orders to the Construction Yard to get another power plant ready.

"Alright, shut the Command Post down," Rex said, "No need to strain the power."

Powering it down until the Construction Yard had managed to field-assemble a power plant, using it's pre-fabricates, Rex was able to keep the rest of the base working. He had to admit, being able to shift power from one thing to another in an emergency was quite handy.

"Alright, let's get some Watchtower turrets up…" Rex said, sending orders to Stevenson's men in the ConYard, as commanders affectionately called their base building vehicle/building. Thirty seconds later, a pair of Watchtowers were up.

"**Commander,"** EVA reported, **"Nod forces are inbound from the East."**

"Take cover behind the base walls, Nod forces incoming from the East!" Rex shouted, checking the charge on his blasters. The two Watchtowers that were set up, which looked quite like their namesake, opened fire upon the incoming Nod Militants. This, in addition to standard-issue GDI Rifle fire was more than enough to mow them down as they came.

"Looks like a Nod base to the east," Ahsoka said to Rex, peering far into the distance. "maybe we ought to take it out?"

"Sounds good to me." Rex said, then, connecting to the Pentagon via comlink, he reported, "We spotted a small Nod base to the east of our position, going to blow it up before it causes more problems."

"**Commander,**" EVA reported, **"GDI Missile Squads are inbound to assist you in the destruction of the Nod base. Destroy it as soon as possible."**

Several Ox transports landed a couple squads of Missile Troopers, GDI's finest Anti-Tank ass-kickers. They were also quite efficient at demolishing buildings, for their R3-S6 Missiles could destroy most buildings. Rex shook his head, recalling when he first heard the name; _I honestly can't believe I insisted on checking the auto-lockers on those things…_

"Ahsoka, we're going in hot," Rex said, "Riflemen, let's clean out any Militants, then let the Rocket boys blow those buildings sky-high!"

"SIR YES SIR!" The Riflemen shouted, then, Rex gave the signal. Ahsoka lit her lightsaber, taking point, with Rex and the lead riflemen right behind him. They charged the Nod outpost, catching Militants off guard, and as they tried to bring their 20th Century SMG's to bear, they got filled with GDI lasers, often taking hits to the head, chest, or, if really unlucky, groin.

The Missile Squads were firing into the Nod barracks, called a 'Hand of Nod', as Rex recalled. It quite literally looked like a hand, one gripping what looked to be an orange globe, with what resembled a bicep-like building coming out of it. Rex then saw the engineers run up, handguns in hand, one of them said to him, "Hey, we'll take the other buildings over and see what we can learn. Best demolish the Hand of Nod before they bring in more troops via tunnel network."

"Go ahead; the Missile Squads seem to be blowing the daylights out of the Hand." Rex said. And sure enough, the 'Hand of Nod' fell like a stack of cards under the pounding of a dozen missiles at once, three times.

"**Commander,"** reported EVA, **"Nod has a base on the other side and it has tanks. We're bringing Orcas to assist you. Please have a landing zone on standby for their arrival."**

Rex sighed, and then sent the orders to his ConYard. A set of landing pats plus an air control tower then sprang up in his base, and with four landing pads. Four Orca Gunships came in and landed.

"Orca Squadron 3-Z here, ready for airstrike." Reported the squadron's leader.

"Right, what's across the river?" Rex asked.

"Scorpion Tanks, Raider Buggies, and plenty of Militants. You guys deal with those infantry, we'll mop up the armor."

"Right, we'll let you know when we initiate our attack, then go in and clean out any AA they got, and then deal with the tanks. We'll head north and in via the old garage sheds." Rex turned to one of the engineers, "You guys think you can fix up the bridge?"

"Easy fix," the engineer said, heading over. A few minutes and some serious-high-tech mechanical genius later, the bridge was repaired.

"Let's go!" Rex shouted, and they crossed the bridge. One of the engineers went towards the Tiberium Spike, which, as Rex recalled, were often captured by battlefield commanders to get refined Tiberium out for combat operations. Of course, GDI compensated the legitimate owners for the use of their spikes, though some, much more corrupt, commanders didn't. The Engineer went in, and did some rerouting.

"Commander," the engineer reported, "Turns out this Tib spike is unowned, so I'm rerouting the Tib it's collected to GDI. Maybe with it they'll finally green-light the Titian…"

Ahsoka grinned and said, "Maybe the paper pushers should actually try a Titian out, that'd change their mind pretty quick."

Rex gave a theatrical sigh, "You always liked playing with destructive toys…"

"Scorpion Tanks incomin'!" shouted a Missile Trooper, cutting the witty banter off, "Fire, Fire, FIRE!"

"Orca Squad 3-Z, we got Scorpions bearing down on us, blow those suckers up!" Rex shouted into his comlink as he grabbed his heavily-modified DC-15 Rifle from its holster on his back, and loaded it. Rex pulled the trigger, and what looked like a solid beam of light burst out of it, slamming into the cockpit of the lead Scorpion tank, and killing the driver. The tank slid off course into the tank to its left, (Rex's right), causing it to be smashed, and slide into the next one in line, ruining that one too. Rex reloaded another power pack and heavy bullet, and picked off another driver, creating similar effects to his first shot.

The Orcas flew in and unleashed their missiles, blowing Scorpion Tanks and Raider buggies alike apart. The raider buggies exploded, the four wheels going off in various directions while the chassis practically melted under the explosive power of the Orca.

Hordes of Militants charged, firing their archaic sub-machine guns, but GDI's forces held firm. One of Nod's officers, a 'Confessor', charged at the lead. Rex loaded another Rail Gun shot, and blew the Confessor's head off with one, brutally lethal, shot.

The Militants were shocked for a key moment, giving Rex time to switch back to his DC-15 side arms, and pour in a lot more fire along with the other riflemen.

"**Commander,"** EVA reported, **"The Nod base is far larger than anticipated. An Ion Cannon is being moved into Geosynchronous Orbit of your location to level the Nod base. Stand by."**

"Orca Squadron 3-Z, return to base, we're bringing in the big one!" Rex shouting, pouring more fire into the advancing Militants.

"Roger that, Orca en route to base." The squadron leader responded.

"**Ion Cannon ready in Five..."**

Rex switched back to his Rail Gun DC, as more Scorpion Tanks rolled in.

"**Four…"**

Ahsoka deflected the lead Scorpion Tank's spitfire laser back at it, removing the laser capacitor from the tank, and since it was not carrying it's standard-issue 105mm cannon, it was now weaponless.

"**Three…"**

Several riflemen were blown away by the first volley from the next wave of Scorpions.

"**Two…"**

A shot from a Scorpion slammed above Rex, forcing him to roll out of the way,

"**One… Ion Cannon is ready to fire. Fire at will, Commander!"**

Rex sent in the coordinates via his helmet, and said, "Here comes the fireworks, boys!"

In orbit above them all, a space station powered up. Through a central tube, energy slammed through it, GDI gunners averting their eyes lest they be blinded by the glow.

Eight beams of pure blue light came down to Earth in a perfect circle, and began to rotate… and circle into the center of the Nod base. Nod Militants ran, but any caught in the rays were disintegrated and superheated with no time to dodge or even react to the fact they were now evaporated water, buildings fell apart as the roof tiles were melted off and supports exploded from the sheer heat. An unlucky Scorpion Tank was caught in one, exploding spectacularly. Finally, the eight beams converged into one, massive beam. Then, it hit. One enormous burst of energy came instantly riding down the beam, elongating it so it almost covered the entire Nod base, and when it hit the ground, an explosion rivaling a tactical nuke shook the earth, destroying the base utterly and thoroughly… and leaving only a small, already fading crater for environmental damage, as well as flattening all the trees in the base (which were few).

GDI's soldiers cheered, for victory was theirs. Ahsoka walked up to Rex, and smiled, saying, "Good thing Grievous didn't have _that_, or we'd be cyborgs by now."

Rex chuckled, and he was personally very glad that it was GDI, not the Separatists, who had this particular Ion Cannon.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Sammy's Bar & Pizza Joint**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Sammy's Bar & Pizza Joint was one of the most popular places for GDI soldiers to hang out after a mission or a long day of patrol. Rex was there that night, as was Ahsoka. While certainly it had taken a while, regulars had finally gotten used to this odd 'thing' in a GDI uniform coming in and being friendly. It also helped that a 'Mutant' in GDI uniform was not uncommon, as GDI has had mutants in it's ranks before, and still did, but much more rarely these days due to their Exodus. Rex remembered the cover-story that was created to cover up the fact that they weren't even from their dimension in the space time continuum: Rex was a tough Yellow-Zone inhabitant who had fought for a couple years by that point to keep people safe, and Ahsoka was his Tiberium-mutated adopted daughter, who got caught in a Nod Tiberium missile explosion yet survived due to a 'weird strain' of Tiberium.

In reality, they had been yanked away from a galaxy far, far away and dropped into the middle of a mopping-up action between the Steel Talons and Nod forces in the Red Zone R-7, the center of Earth's 'United States of America', on June 17th, 2033 Common Era. Nod was using a recovered piece of old equipment called a 'Chronosphere' in a desperate attempt to change the outcome of the 2nd Tiberium War, as it had apparently been used once to end a 'World War' between 'Allied Nations' and a 'Soviet Union'. However, the Chronosphere had glitches. It created holes in the Space Time continuum accidentally, causing serious havoc or even bringing unnatural things to the field. Rex and Ahsoka… were one of them. They landed face-first in a field of blue Tiberium. By rights both of them should have died because Tiberium was poisonous to most humans and just about any carbon based life form. However, the DNA changes Rex had as a Clone and the fact Ahsoka wasn't human seemed to of save them. However, it did change them in a few ways.

Rex no longer grew at twice the speed. He had a normal human lifespan again, and the years of childhood he had lost were returned… though he was still an adult, technically. He had even gained a tad more muscle and agility, and the mental barriers that had solidified orders in him since he was fresh out of his growth jar were gone. He no longer was bound by orders, but principle that had been instilled in him still remained, for it was not a genetic block, but personal conviction.

Ahsoka on the other hand had little affects, the only real difference being that she changed little physically over the last 14 years. Although technically she was 'fully grown', she still had her youthful appearance, just a foot or so taller. She had lost a good amount of the overconfidence that had landed her in trouble several times, though Rex suspected this was just her growing up. Fortunately, Tiberium exposure also allowed them to justify her Force powers, since now they only seemed to work most effectively when Tiberium was in the air. And since Tiberium had been refined by many people to a harmless variation suitable for replacing just about any material needed (in fact, almost every known element was _in _Tiberium), she now had fairly good access to her abilities. She had made a new light saber using a Green Tiberium crystal, and her lightsaber was a darker green than before.

They had mostly just looked for cover while the battle raged, and they were quite shocked at what they had seen. Nod soldiers had found them, and probably would of shot them dead, given the two were quite beaten from the battle they were in before getting chronoshifted to Earth, if not got the timely arrival of Mitchell's Wolverines. Mitchell proved to be an amiable sort, though it took a few hours to figure out what the heck had happened, who's on whose side, and names. Since the Chronosphere was far too dangerous to try and reuse to try and rectify the situation, Rex and Ahsoka decided to acquit themselves as best as they could to their new 'home'. The difference in tech was definitely noticeable to them, though they adjusted to it fairly well over the 14 years they had been there. Most of those years were spent working with the Steel Talon division of GDI. The mechanical skills Ahsoka had learned certainly helped in making the Titians and Wolverines more useful and viable for combat vehicles, and Rex was quite familiar with walker tactics, and although the Talons had variable success against Nod remnant forces, they came out on top most of the time. The only time Rex recalled them loosing was to some unknown Nod commander who was pretty brilliant in his small ops to recover Nod's stealth equipment, but otherwise, the Talons blew the daylights out of any Nod forces that stuck their nose out against them. Rex had proved his command skills several times, which had apparently gotten General Granger's attention enough to reassign him to GDI's mainstream forces in DC.

"Hey Rex," Ahsoka asked, a drink in hand, leaning against the wall next to where he was. "Something wrong?"

"No," Rex said, "Just thinking about things."

"Yeah, it's been crazy. Yanked from one battlefield, dropped into another, and not even a good star fighter to see."

"Though the walkers here are pretty good."

"I'll agree with that. So, Granger call you for debrief yet?"

"Nope." Rex shook his head, "He said that they were analyzing the combat data."

Rex's wrist comlink beeped. He pressed the button, and said, "Rex here."

"Commander, General Granger wants you over here ASAP." Came Lt. Sandra Telfair's voice.

"I'm on it." Rex said, then looked at Ahsoka and said, "Mission debrief."

Ahsoka nodded, "I'll be back at the base once the men here are done." Ahsoka had the habit of remaining until most of the troops had finished their drinks and headed on home. She was, literally, a smoke detector for bar fights, and usually was able to stop them just as they're beginning (much to the chagrin of the GDI Military Police, who sometimes said 'If anyone else can clean up bar fights as effectively as her, we'll be out of our jobs!')

XXXX

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Commander, Nod is clearly planning something and judging by the size of the force you exposed; it's a major offensive. I've already called a emergency D9 Briefing but the timing couldn't be worse, all the Directors are up in the Philadelphia, the damned energy summit, and God knows"-

Sandra ran in, terrified.

"I'm sorry to interrupt General, but I've just been informed there's been an attack on Goddard space center in Maryland! We should be receiving visual data any second." She pushed a button on the remote, pointing to the General's Command screen.

Smoke and flame from the wreckage of what was once GDI's A-SAT defense network.

"Good Lord," Granger said, turning, "You realize what they've done… Nod's just taken out our whole North-Eastern A-SAT defense systems, all our anti-missile capability…" Granger inhaled, looking mad. Not just mad, incised, and _pissed_.

Sandra paled, "The Philadelphia!"

Granger punched up the _GDSS Philadelphia_ on his screen, it still floated in space in perfect orbit around Earth.

"Heaven help us…" Granger said finally.

XXXXX

**Sammy's Bar & Pizza Joint**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Ahsoka watched the news from her seat at the bar. William Frank, the main reporter from W3N, was reporting on the GDI energy summit. The subtitle read "Day Five onboard the GDSS Philadelphia".

William Frank continued, saying, "And in Global News today, the annual GDI Energy Summit is _still_ underway onboard the space station Philadelphia. Our own Cassandra Blair reports on the landmark goals of this year's summit."

The scene cut to the Northeastern GDI Administration center, which was just in front of the White House. Cassandra Blair began her report.

"When top administrators return to work here tomorrow, they're hoping for a new fiscal agenda. According to Director Kinsburg, one of the key talking points is shifting resources from defense, to ecology. With the eradication of Tiberium is now considered more important, than the containment of Nod. Furthermore"-

This lead to a number of angry shouts from various GDI soldiers, one of them, who Ahsoka recognized as the famed First Tiberium War commando Nick "Havoc" Parker, shouted, "You're playing into Nod's hands you bureaucratic DOVES!"

Ahsoka was honestly quite surprised; she thought that most of GDI's soldiers would be glad that resources were being shifted towards destroying Tiberium. Nod was broken, though she had to admit, the size of the force they engaged surprised them all, and it certainly made a few think that shifting a bit more to defense from say, the entertainment district might help a good bit. She even reckoned GDI soldiers would accept a lower pay (if they were working for pay) to have Tiberium eradicated while keeping Nod back.

Suddenly, the screen buzzed, and said "Breaking News". It turned back to William Frank, who looked shocked.

"Excuse… Excuse the interruption… we're… getting breaking news on the Philadelphia."

The screen switched to an amateur astronomer's viewing of the GDSS (Global Defense Space Station) Philadelphia,

"Only moments ago… There was an accident…" something resembling a comet launched from Earth sped into the space station… and it exploded utterly. The crowd started shouting, a number of them rushing for their guns, which where, as per regulations in the café, hung at the door under guard by the bouncer, Tooth

"HOLY SHIT!"

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"ACCIDENT? YOU CALL A MOTHER FUCKING NOD NUCLEAR MISSILE AN _ACCIDENT?_" shouted Nick "Havoc" Parker

Ahsoka ran to, feeling suddenly anger, broiling over to determination, an urge to _kill_ and _destroy_ coming. The news continued, as, briefly, she had a Force vision; someone with a rifle in black armor with occasional red, armed with an older rifle…

"Obviously, something has gone… terribly wrong. We're all going to... confirm, what we're seeing, but at this time… we have no idea what possibly could of caused a tragedy of this magnitude… we're… going to go back to Cassandra Blair outside the Northeast Admin Building…"

Now instead of a clean and pristine city street, the Northeast Admin Building was obscured by smoke and rubble, and unaware of the anger from GDI soldiers just a block away, Cassandra Blair continued her report… improvised report now.

"William, William! I don't know if you can hear me it's incredible! So much smoke you can't see more than ten meters, and there's debris falling, all over the-" a massive, blinding explosion cut her off as she ducked out of the way.

"Unbelievable"- William was about to say, when the news buzzed grey, Ahsoka and the GDI soldiers stopped in their tracks, staring at the nearest screen as a hauntingly familiar voice echoed across the television…

Nod's leader, Kane, the 'Messiah' as some called him, the 'Tiberium Prophet' by Nod, and the '#1 Public Enemy' by GDI, was now transmitting. His bald head and villainous beard made him look sinister as usual; the red lighting of what was likely to be his new Nod base amplifying it. Kane began to _talk_.

"The destruction of the Philadelphia was not an accident. It was a _merciful bullet _to the head of a _malignant_ ideology. It was the death of _fear_ and the _birth_ of _hope!_ Rejoice, _Children of Nod_ the blood of your oppressors will flow! And _Fifty _years of tyranny will finally end. **Transformation** is coming, a new day will dawn. The _**Future**_; is ours." His transmission cut off, GDI's soldiers looking at each other, stunned.

_Boom_. An explosion in the distance.

_Boom, Boom, Boom, Bo-boom_. Many more explosions. Something dawned on Ahsoka, and she shouting, "INCOMING!"

The soldiers ducked into cover as Nod Militants burst inside the Bar & Pizza joint, firing their old machine guns at GDI's off-duty soldiers. Ahsoka called her lightsaber to her and began to cut through the Militants. Havoc, bringing out a concealed high-yield handgun, started shooting the Militants, with one shot, two kills. Other GDI soldiers returned fire as well. Quickly, the Militants fell.

"Let's go!" Ahsoka shouted, heading outside. Other GDI soldiers grabbed rifles and grenades, anything they could get, even taking Nod weapons, and followed her out.

Throughout this, the news continued unabated, the North-western W3N affiliate reporting on Nod's sudden attack, bombs from Nod's batwing-like Vertigo Bombers bombing what was probably the uninfected parts of San Francisco. Apparently, the GDI soldiers there (ZOCOM, as Ahsoka recalled) had not been able to respond to the sudden attack.

Ahsoka charged out into DC… to see all hell break loose.

XXXXXXX

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Commander," Granger said as people ran this way and that trying to respond to the attack, "All hells broken loose. Nod's launched preemptive strikes across all blue zones across the board. Most of our troops are, pinned down, our A-SAT defenses are _still_ offline, and I have no god damn idea who's running the show at GDI."

A technician trying to repair the power leapt back as it blew a socket on him.

"This is no time to stand on _protocol_, Nod's overrun the Northeastern Blue Zone and we're getting the worst of it here in DC."

Sandra ran in, shouting, "I'm sorry General, they're starting Evac procedures!"

Without even stopping to think, Granger responded, "You go ahead, Sandra."

Stuttering, Sandra said, "Si-sir, you can't wait here."

"That is an _order_, Sandra."

"Sir."

Granger sighed, turning to Rex. "Kirce James will bring you up to speed. It's all on you now, Commander. I need you to take back this city."

XXX

**InOps Combat Intelligence Center**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Hoping desperately Kirce was not one of the InOps operatives who could only tell him Tiberium was green on a good day; Rex rushed into her office, and shouted, "Need a briefing!" She didn't flinch at all, obviously knowing how desperate things were. She handed a folder back to an aide, and said to Rex,

"Alright Commander, here's the latest. Nod forces are going in for the kill, closing in on the Pentagon. As you know, there is no more vital structure in the region, if we loose the Pentagon, we loose our command and control structure in the region. You _cannot_ let this happen!"

Rex was already out the door, the obvious pointed out to him by InOps again, _Yep. Only can tell me on a good day that Tib is green._

Ahsoka deflected another Avatar Warmech's laser back at its eye, destroying it. Her comlink beeped, and after activating it, she shouted, "Ahsoka here, Rex, is that you?"

"Ahsoka, I need you at the Pentagon, pronto, help any soldiers you can and get over there, Nod's overrunning us here, and the power's busted, we're getting overrun!" Rex shouted.

"Hold on Rex," Ahsoka responded, using the Force to shove a falling Vertigo bomber into a Nod Scorpion Tank. "I'm not leaving you behind."

XXXX

XXXX

**Author's Notes: **_**REWRITE NOTES**_

_**I'm doing a rewrite over with Cloned Tiberium, as I had located a glaring flaw; my intended perspective breaks were mysteriously removed by during upload. I am unsure why, and am substituting the dash marks with X's, as I have already done with Cloned Tiberium: Tiberian Dusk. Minor edits will be made, and perhaps more scenery porn (if you pardon the term), but in general, it'll remain the same with some hindsight additions. I will not add anything that will glaringly disrupt the fanon of the story (or verse, considering there is multiple stories in the Cloned Tiberium 'arc').**_

**_Due to being an ongoing rewrite, the updates shall be irregular; I will make a full note when the whole thing has been 'repaired', if you will. Or Reconstructed. Or just upgraded with Blue Tiberium. Whatever works for you in terminology._**


	2. Chapter 2: Blue Zone Blues

_Go ahead, my child, push the button, inscribe your place in history with the blood of GDI… … … The wheels of war are in motion, our destiny within grasp; the _Philadelphia_ was only the beginning, our forces will spread like a great plague across the Earth, every Blue Zone will feel our wrath, but for you… but for you my child, I have reserved the greatest challenge. There is a secret attack force awaiting your command. Show no mercy, for GDI and its new Steel Talon Commander, never mind his daughter, will show you none. As he will test you... you will test him._

-Kane to a new(er) Commander within Nod, who would become known amongst the world as the _Legendary Insurgent_ in the years to come.

_Could watch this a hundred times, and I probably will. But for right now, time to take the war to GDI. Man, I'd give my left nut to get a chance to take out any of the targets out myself... OK, you can hit Andrews Airforce Base, or the White House. I'd say White House just to say 'fuck you' to GDI... and while you're there, topple Havoc's statue would you? Bring his ego down a notch or two._

- Nod Agent Ajay to the (to-become-known) Insurgent, after replaying a video of the _Philadelphia's_ destruction.

**Chapter 2: Blue Zone Blues**

_Author's Notes: Chapter/mission coverage will vary from chapter to chapter, as sometimes missions will go hand-in-hand in a single chapter while others will take individual chapters to complete._

**Washington DC, just west of the Pentagon**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Ahsoka had finally reached the Pentagon, finding a couple of engineers and a pair of Steel Talon Behemoths on the way. A Vertigo Bomber was making a run on the Pentagon, but a Firehawk multi-purpose jet perused it, firing a pair of missiles into the Vertigo, causing it to fall down into the street and crash.

But a Nod Venom was perusing the Firehawk, and shot it down, the Firehawk slamming into a nearby civilian building.

"Captain Hunter! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted one of the Riflemen in despair that the famous Firehawk ace was shot down by a lowly Nod grunt pilot.

Ahsoka ran forward, shouting, "Come on!"

Nod Militants had gotten into the power plants, a number of GDI soldiers lying dead, strewn about the area. The Nod Militants were now trying to destroy the power plants with rockets and machine gun fire.

"Kill those Militants!" Ahsoka shouted, leaping into the fray. Rifle fire came into the Militants as Ahsoka sliced through them. The engineers rushed into the power plants, in an attempt to repair them and get them working.

The way clear, the engineers got in and the Watchtower Defenses, Guardian Cannons, and Anti-Air Batteries were back online, massacring hordes of Militants, blowing up Raider Buggies and Scorpion Tanks, and shredding Armageddon tactical bombers and Venoms alike as they made a play for the Pentagon. GDI Riflemen and Rocket Troopers, taking cover behind the walls surrounding the Pentagon, desperately sent as many lasers and rockets as they could into the incoming. In the center of it all, Rex was laying down suppressive fire with his dual pistols. Ahsoka's reinforcements took their own positions, and she ran to Rex.

"Lil'un!" Rex shouted when he saw her, "Good work on those power plants, that'll give us the edge we need! You hurt?"

"Just a scratch," Ahsoka said, dismissing a gunshot wound that had bounced off her fatigue's padded side. "Now, how about we give Nod the fight they're looking for? I found two Behemoths on my way, they'll be here momentarily."

"Good," Rex said. The Steel Talon Behemoth was a super-heavy version of the GDI Juggernaut Battle walker/arterially platform. With these, they'd be able to shell the hell out of Nod's forces as they came in.

"Commander, Colonel Nick Seymour '**Havoc**' Parker, ready to rock and roll." The old retired GDI commando had accompanied Ahsoka, and was now sporting a hefty machine gun, taken and cannibalized from a destroyed Nod Raider Buggy. Ahsoka hoped that he lived up to his name, _Havoc_. He already single-handedly destroyed a Nod Avatar with a C4 charge.

"Good to meet you Colonel Parker, now, let's turn these bastards into scrap." Rex said, turning back to the fight and opening fire with his dual pistols.

The two Behemoths came up. The Behemoth, a walker, on two legs, but instead of a head, it had three _massive_ cannons with a cockpit on the side, heavily reinforced. They set up just behind the GDI forces, and opened fire on the incoming Nod forces, whom had just brought Scorpion Tanks to support them. A single hit from a Behemoth blew a Scorpion tank into so-much shrapnel, and Behemoths fired shots in sprays of three. Blowing Infantry piecemeal and tanks into shrapnel, Rex's forces held out against the first onslaught with little difficulty this time, for the defensive guns gave them the power to blow up anything Nod that made a play.

"Nice work Commander," Kirce said via comlink to Rex. "We've reestablished battlefield control from the Pentagon… We can coordinate our efforts across the globe again."

A squadron of stealthed Vertigos streaked in and bombed the power plants, blowing them up before anyone had a chance to react.

"God DAMNIT! Nod blew the power plants! The defenses are back offline! Alright Rex, Nod's coming in again, and this time, they mean business, and you have to hold it down the old fashioned way."

"Understood," Rex said to her, then switched to his command channel. "Riflemen, get some Foxholes ready, Missile Squads, into the security towers. Snipers! Get into the Pentagon and lay down some long-range fire for us! Behemoths, set up for more Nod forces!"

GDI Riflemen got shovels out and started setting up GDI Foxholes, perfect cover for infantry in the field. Missile Squads got into the security towers, as did some GDI riflemen. Sniper teams went into the Pentagon and started sniping Nod forces as they advanced from the windows they could find. The Behemoths laid down suppressive fire in an attempt to buy time.

Nod was now bringing up the big guns. Purifier Warmechs… an 'older' version of the Avatar, it was solidly stuck with a pair of Beam Cannons and a Flamethrower, unlike most Avatars that could upgrade to that as well as stealth detection/ability.

XXXX

It was Christopsis all over again for Rex. GDI was ludicrously outnumbered, but they had dug the hell out of their position, for they had heavy firepower from the Behemoths, and were fighting tooth and nail for their survival. The fire the GDI forces laid down was less bursts but more of a pure wall. Flame Tanks moved in, but were blown up by missiles. Purifier's fell like trees once the Behemoths targeted their legs. Snipers picked off Confessors urging Nod soldiers to push forward 'In the Name of Kane'.

GDI was taking losses too, all around Rex; GDI soldiers were catching bullets and falling, the medics beyond full stretch. Ahsoka was able to deflect any laser fire from Nod, particularly the Purifier Warmechs, and it certainly helped. GDI soldiers brought out heavy machine guns, cannibalizing them from the Watchtower Defensive turrets. Havoc took several bullets to the chest, grunted, and in response, threw a grenade and opened fire with his salvaged chaingun, scoring impossible headshot after headshot with it.

A soldier took a hit from a Nod grenade, his team blown away, but he got the full blast, screaming for his mother as he was burning in pain from the incendiary grenade (and Rex had a suspicious feeling that there was Nod hallucinates in it). He couldn't help but pity the soldier; but quickly returned his mind to the battle.

XXX

Sergeant Louise James ducked under cover as she reloaded, amazed at seeing Ahsoka at work. She really wondered; Who was she? Why was she able to fight as she did? Whatever the answer, she had a job to do: Thinning out Nod's numbers one at a time. She slotted a pair of militants with well placed shots, dropping both dead near-instantly. She was almost disappointed; Nod soldiers deserved to have a slow, agonizing death.

XXX

The Militants were closing in fast, and Havoc grinned as he ran out of ammo. "Hey, Noddies! CATCH!" He threw his chaingun at them, and pressed a button on a detonator in his hands once it hit them…

The resulting explosion from a concealed C4 charge that Havoc planted in the now-obliterated machine gun destroyed at least thirty Nod militants, leaving them screaming bloody (or was it flaming?) murder. Havoc, with a practiced move drew his pistol and started plugging Nod soldiers.

"Eva, meet idiot number N!" Havoc shouted as he scored headshot after headshot with his pistol, nailing Nod militants (some with helmets, some without, but most had some form of body armor… mass produced _SECOND TIBERIUM WAR_ era armor). He felt a few hot stings as gunshot wounds hit his Kevlar armored pants, but he ignored that. He'd taken direct hits from rocket launchers; he could handle a few bullets. _And they say I'm too old for this…_

The militants were scrambling into the barricade, and one jumped up, shouting, "HAHA! Die GDI pigdog!"

"Havoc…" he threw his fist into the Nod soldier, decking him in his helmeted face and over the barricade, into his brothers (and sisters) beyond, "PUNCH!"

More swarmed in, a Black Hand flame trooper, and Havoc shot him in the head as he entered the barricade, and grabbed the flamethrower, using his familiarity with every god-damn weapon in the world to quickly readjust it and let the torrent of flame loose upon the Nod soldiers closing in.

XXXX

Ahsoka slashed through another Nod militant, a man that Ahsoka recognized from the airport that morning. How he got in, she didn't know, but she brought her blade up his spine and out his head, leaving him in two cauterized pieces. Another Nod militant leaped in after the previous, and Ahsoka dispatched him just as quickly. More rushed in, and GDI soldiers began to reveal how dangerous they were in close quarter combat. She caught sight of Rex using the Mandalorian combat techniques he had inherited as a clone of a Mandalorian mercenary, single-handedly kicking, throwing, and generally knocking away Nod militants as they came, much as he and Commander Cody did in the Clone Wars against the legions of battle droids they fought…

It honestly terrified Ahsoka how much the Nod militant forces resembled _living_ battle droids in function. However, an explosion from a Nod grenade thrown by an officer reminded Ahsoka what she was doing, and she returned to hacking through the Nod soldiers, blood from other GDI weaponry (despite the habit of GDI's blaster equivalents had to cauterization) hitting Nod soldiers staining her dark-green fatigues.

She lifted a militant squad with the Force, feeling the strain from the long action, and hurled them into the Nod horde, knocking too many Nod soldiers to count down as they tried to disentangle each other.

XXXX

Captain Stewart Blade, flying a Firehawk, looked down at the carnage below. "Alright squadron, we need to try and help. Drop your bombs for maximum damage; initate Attack Pattern Beta!"

His squadron (or rather, remains) broke off and began dive bombing the enemy, droping their two Hellcat bombs each, then pulled out before Nod forces could respond…

"**GDS **_**Pathe**_** has been destroyed."**

"WHAT?" Blade shouted, shocked beyond recognition: Fear suddenly clutched his heart; with Andrews Air Base destroyed and, GDI had no other airbase…

Suddenly his engine exploded; he had been hit by a Nod missile. Another hit, hitting his cockpit directly… and he screamed a steady stream of unintelligible words as he came crashing down to Earth, his flesh on fire as he, in a twisted sense of mercy, slammed into the water and was vaporized with his fighter, exploding from the sheer kinetic force.

XXXX

Ahsoka threw another Nod militant out of the barricade, and peered over: The offensive was stalling!

XXXX

Finally, from the East, after the 30 minutes of brutal combat, came GDI's Guardian APC's, and along side them, GDI's Main Battle Tank, the Predator, firing its 150 millimeter armor piercing cannon at anything Nod. And at the lead of that, was GDI's most fearsome battle tank, the _Mammoth Tank_. And this one had GDI's famed and legendary _Rail Guns_. The Mammoth fired it's dual Rail Guns and dual Missile Pods at the incoming Purifiers, one having it's legs blown out from under it, another being blown back by missiles so hard it collapsed atop the legless one, both exploding. The H-shaped tank rolled forward, firing it's stupidly powerful weapons at the Nod forces, all of whom died trying to take it on directly in the open field (if not somewhat paved with dead bodies).

"Sorry we're late sir," reported the Mammoth Tank's officer, "Ran into some trouble across the river. We're ready to go, and I'm sure a good Talon officer like you wouldn't mind some armor."

"Damn, you coulda been here hours earlier and we would of still been glad to see you. Now, let's take this damn city back!" Rex shouted.

GDI Grenadiers came out from the Pentagon, and looked to of only just been able to get their gear on.

"Commander, those rifles of yours won't deal with the buildings. Let us handle the buildings; you stick to shootin' the infantry."

"Ahsoka, we need some cover," Rex said, and she nodded, ready to leap over and charge. In the field, a Jedi was cover when conventional cover didn't work.

"**Commander,"** Rex's EVA reported, **"Nod has hastily established a forward base. Destroy it."**

"Behemoths, long-range shelling on the Nod base, we need to keep them checked while we advance!" Rex shouted, "Alright men, when I give the word, we rush the position. Grenadiers, clear those buildings. Everyone else; let no Nod soldier escape, dead, OR alive!"

Ahsoka leapt over the barricade, melting bullets as they came, and Rex gave the order. Right behind her was GDI's grenadiers, and behind them were Riflemen and Missile Squads. From the East, the tanks rolled in, engaging the Nod armored forces, masses of cheaply produced Scorpion Tanks… and won hands down.

The infantry were not so lucky; forced to fight over the dead bodies of easily a thousand dead Nod soldiers, they had to crawl and leap their way through, and even with the covering fire, it was still difficult. Rex knew that if it weren't for Ahsoka's cover, he'd of probably been dead already as they closed in on the buildings.

The Grenades flew into the windows of the buildings Nod had garrisoned. Fortunately, most civilians in the Pentagon area had fled to the Pentagon, or, more accurately, behind it, near the Potomac River. Because of no civilians in the area, Rex was free to use every thing he had to take out Nod in brutal urban combat.

"Commander Rex, this is Steel Talon Titan Squad _Battlestar_, we're pinned down at Arlington Cemetery by a Nod outpost!"

Several GDI squads were getting into APC's, using them for cover while firing at the Nod forces from within.

"Mammoth Tank, Predators, APC's, get to the Cemetery and help those Titans!"

"Roger that, rollin' out!" the Mammoth Tank's driver said. Rex's men didn't need to be ordered, they rushed into the now-cleared civilian buildings and laid down fire, taking every inch of land, securing it, and then taking the next one.

A large column of Nod armor advanced, and Rex, switching to his Rail Gun DC, opened fire with the rest of the GDI forces. But the Scorpion Tanks were numerous and blew holes into the buildings, sending GDI soldiers to their deaths from falling or the explosion of the tank shells, landing with sickening thuds. When Rex was about to call a retreat to the Pentagon, he saw a squad of Titans waltz in, firing their cannons at Scorpions and _stomping on them_ as well, demolishing the armored forces.

"Let's end this!" Rex shouted, "FORWARD!"

GDI advanced, the tanks and Titans taking the lead. Nod brought in Scorpions with Spitfire Lasers to destroy the Mammoth, but Ahsoka leapt onto the tank, and started deflecting the lasers _back_ at the Scorpions, covering the Mammoth while it blew the daylights out of anything that dared poke its head out against them.

Nod's forces were putting up a good fight though, a few Predators and APC's were blown apart, even a pair of Titans, and GDI's infantry were taking a beating, many of them lying dead, left behind by the charge, but they kept advancing, lighting up anything Nod.

Finally, they had reached the Nod base. And without needing an order, GDI's forces leveled it utterly using everything they had. Shrapnel flew, buildings collapsed, and the blood of Nod's forces flowed like a river.

They had secured the Pentagon area.

GDI's forces cheered, for they had pushed Nod away, and could now take the fight to them.

XXXXX

As Ahsoka walked back to the Pentagon, tired, sweaty, covered in dirt and easily coated in blood, was appalled how the victory had cost… and not just for GDI.

She looked at the field in front of the Pentagon; what had once been a beautiful park (that was never used due to military security issues) was literally paved with the bodies of dead Nod soldiers. As she walked through the road that GDI soldiers were clearing, she could feel that there were indeed survivors within the pile… all of them suffering, screaming despite never being heard.

She glanced to her left, and saw a young man… no, he had to be a boy, he was so young, he couldn't of even been out of her teens… he gave her a look, and she knew what it meant: _Kill me._ It took her a moment to realize how hard it was to read his expression: his chin had been blown off, leaving a blackened mess where his jaw used to be.

She could sense the pain… and she was about to put her lightsaber through his chest, end it… but she stayed her hand, realizing that the 'mercy' was cruel. Instead, she shoved the dead Nod militants off of him, and hauled him out, leaving him shocked on the ground. Pulling out a comlink, she radioed, "Lieutenant Tano to Command, found a live one, Nod soldier. Going to bring him to the POW area. Advise we check for more... this one's missing a jaw and won't be talking, though…"

"Copy that, Lieutenant." Answered a bored voice, "You know the area."

Indeed she did: The power plant area was turned into a makeshift POW camp… which was right next to the infirmary. But many Nod soldiers there waited in agony; GDI was prioritizing their soldiers and civilians to Nod… and Ahsoka could not blame them.

As she walked by the infirmery area, intending to get her wounded side checked, she glanced at a reflection... her face was litterally caked with blood. Horrified, she began wiping it off as best she could with the back of her sleeve... but all it did was stain.

XXXXX

**Thirty Minutes Later**

**The Pentagon,**

**Washington DC,**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Nice work Commander," Granger said, "You've given us time… but now I need you to secure Hampton Roads and Langley Air Force Base."

Kirce had come up from InOps, and explained,

"Nod cut of our supplies at Hampton roads, and worse, now they have their own reinforcements coming in. If you can retake it, we can bring in reinforcements, and what's more, the ZOCOM Zone Raiders and Elite Infantry can join you for the final push to get Nod out of this Blue Zone. Langley AFB is our last Air Force base in the area, and we have no carriers, a Nod commando sunk the _GDS Pathe_ at Hampton Roads, so securing Langley AFB will get you access to air support. With these two assets in hand, we can retake the rest of DC."

Ahsoka, who had accompanied Rex in after a quick cleanup, asked, "Hampton Roads has a lot of shipping crates, right? All sitting in the docks, waiting to be moved in massive piles?"

Rex looked at her, and asked, "You aren't suggesting"-

"I am." Ahsoka said. "Look, if you can retake the Airbase, first, you'll distract Nod, and while that's going on, I can infiltrate the Nod base at Hampton, and if it goes fast enough, I'll meet you in Langley with help. Stang, both of the strikes simultaneously and Nod won't be able to figure out which way to turn."

Granger looked concerned. Rex didn't blame him. Granger's daughter was a Zone Raider for ZOCOM, and the Zone Raiders got into some pretty screwy situations when Nod didn't like ZOCOM from poking its nose into a Red Zone.

"If she is," Granger said, "She's taking a Rail Carbine and plenty of C4, and I'll get a strike team ready to help with leveling the Nod base there, while Rex takes Langley AFB."

Rex nodded. Granger was not aware of his or Ahsoka's origins, as Mitchell and his Talons decided to keep that on the down-low. Though Rex knew he had to tell Granger eventually.

"Alright. Rex, you go Langley, you'll have battleship support, the ships _Guardian, Legacy, _and _Justice_. Ahsoka, you get suited up in Commando gear, you two _did_ complete the training, so you'll be able to use Commando equipment when you want to for combat ops. Once you clear out the Nod anti-ship equipment, the Battleships can call in the artillery and blow the Nod forces to bits."

XXXXXX

**Hampton Roads**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Ahsoka, now suited up in GDI Commando armor, sans the helmet (since they didn't have one that'd fit), moved ahead. Her lightsaber was at her belt, the Rail Carbine loaded, and plenty of C4 on her belt for use. A Jetpack, standard issue for GDI Commandos, was also strapped to the armor, giving her extra 'oomph' per se for her jumps (though her Force abilities already let her do that).

She creped ahead, but a Militant spotted her, who shouted, "GDI Shiner, SHOOT HER!"

The armor took the hits, and Ahsoka let loose a quick clip from the Rail-Carbine, leveling the Militants.

Switching to her lightsaber, she rushed around, cutting Militants down before they could react, and finally, she reached her initial target. The Nod Operation's Center. A group of elite Black Hand infantry was guarding it. The Black Hand was a powerful sub-faction of Nod's forces; it's Black Hand Flame Troopers a common sight in Nod's urban combat operations due to their flame throwers. She loaded her Rail Carbine and ripped them apart before they could react, then set C4 on the Ops Center. One GDI C4 charge was all that was needed, as they were amplified by GDI's sonic tech and had enough power to level a warmech with ease.

Her comlink beeped quietly, and Ahsoka pressed it. She had been connected to Rex's EVA unit, which was also monitoring her progress while Rex his Langley AFB.

"**Commando," **the EVA unit reported, **"The Battleships cannot get into position until you take out the Nod Air Tower launching Vertigo Bombers. Before destroying it, check reports of our Command Post in the area being repairable."**

Creeping ahead and using her Rail Carbine to snipe Nod's militants before they could report her position, she went north to the GDI Command Post, which had been leveled by Nod's commando. She reached it and found some medical gear, which she strapped to her belt in case she needed it, but the Command Post was thoroughly leveled.

Cutting her way past a large group of Nod Militants and Confessors (leaving many dead with various parts of their bodies severed), she reached the Nod Air Tower, and strapped C4 to the hanger that Nod used to bring Vertigo Bombers and Venom VTOL aircraft up from the underground repair and assembly facility that each Air Tower had. She leapt down, using the Jump Jet Pack to slow her descent, and let the C4 explode. The four Vertigo's docked on the Air Tower's landing pad fell to the ground, exploding, and the tower collapsed.

"**ZOCOM Reinforcements inbound; please stand by for their arrival."** EVA reported to her.

"This is Zone Raider Lieutenant Sarah Granger; please stand by, _Talon_, while we come in to clean up."

Apparently, EVA heard that, because she heard some cussing on Rex's comm. Channel… coming from a female Titan pilot, though she heard the distinct words, "She'll be able to take the entire base out herself"

Ahsoka grinned, and crept ahead. She leapt around and over the shipping crates, cutting down Militant patrols.

An Attack Bike spotted her, and opened fire with its dual missiles. Ahsoka dodged, and used the Force to pull the pilot out of his seat and throw him into the ground. Hard enough that the sickening thud could be heard a good distance away.

She then used her Rail Carbine to fill a couple Attack Bike drivers up when they made a pass on her, failing and being shot out of their seats.

She crept ahead, noting plenty of explosive barrels.

She spotted a Flame Tank, Nod's anti-infantry shocking pyromaniac tank, guarding the base. Knowing that trying to cut it with her Lightsaber was suicide because of the fact they exploded upon their fuel reserves being ignited, she used the Force to lift one of the explosive barrels, and hurl it violently into the tank. It exploded, taking the Tank and a couple Black Hand flame troopers with it.

Ahsoka rushed in, lightsaber in hand, and cut down any Nod soldiers who decided to get in the way, leaving them screaming as their limbs were cut off. She shut them out of her mind, drowning out the dying screams and the echoes such left in the Force with what she needed to do: Stop Nod from hurting any more innocents. Strapping C4 to every nod building, and concealing it, she snuck out of the now-cleaned out Nod base. However, the Nod commando had finally found her.

"Die, in the name of Kane!" shouted the commando, firing at her with dual laser pistols.

Ahsoka rolled out of the way of the initial lasers, and then activated her lightsaber, deflecting the lasers back into the Commando, who dodged, keeping the fire up. At long last, one caught her in the neck, and the Nod commando dropped dead, slowly, and painfully. Ahsoka went up and took the head off with her lightsaber, the commando's head landing with a crunch and rolling away like a watermelon. _Better death than she deserves, _Ahsoka thought as she sensed the Nod commando fade away into whatever death had in store for her. She turned towards the landing zone.

The ZOCOM Zone Raiders had arrived, and with them squads of ZOCOM Riflemen, Missile Troopers, Grenadiers, and Sniper Teams. Each Zone Raider was, as Ahsoka noted, a woman. And whoever designed their armor clearly had a bikini in mind when designing it. Lt. Sarah Granger walked up to Ahsoka and said,

"Alright, _Talon_, where's the base you left intact?"

Ahsoka tapped a button on her wrist EVA uplink. A spectacular fireball erupted from where the Nod base was. The orb held in the base's Hand of Nod's 'hand' came flying down, landing next to them with a dull thud.

"Gone." Ahsoka said, grinning. It was a good thing the Zone Raiders were wearing full body armor, because Ahsoka was quite sure that they had looks of embarrassment on their faces.

"So, any of you ladies fancy cleaning out Langley AFB while we still can do something?" Ahsoka asked with a mocking grin on her face.

XXXXX

Brother Maxus of the Black Hand watched as the GDI commando, with all her exotic features, joined the ZOCOM soldiers and left…

"Brother?" asked one of the militants next to him.

"The port has fallen… Kane will not be pleased."

XXXXX

**Just outside of Langley AFB**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Rex was in a GDI Hover Transport. Behind him was the Titan Squad that Rex's forces had aided. In another transport, a Mammoth Tank was loaded, and another, GDI's infantry. Rex climbed onto the lead Titan, which had its driver sniped out from it before during the defense of the Pentagon. Activating the controls, he did a radio check.

A GDI Battleship was firing its heavy guns into the Nod forces deployed near the old GDI outpost that was the last resistance in the area. The hover transports hit the beach, and Rex shouted, "All units, fire at will!" And his Titans rushed out as fast as their legs could carry them, blasting Nod positions with their heavy 155 mm guns. GDI Infantry rushed in and cleaned the base out of Nod forces trying to capture it, while Rex, the Titans, and the Mammoth Tank rolled in to engage Nod's armor. Rex blew two more Scorpion tanks up, while the Mammoth blew up five.

With the foothold regained, Rex could now call in reinforcements, but he would be limited in his reinforcements until Hampton Roads was recaptured.

Rex opened communication to the Titan driver next to him, "Tex, how you doing?"

"Just fine," came a woman's voice, "Just a problem with the gyro-stabilizer, took a direct hit to it from one of those Scorpions."

"Right, check the outpost's War Factory; it should have the drones and parts for it…"

Rex was cut off by his EVA unit, which he had tuned up after securing the area to hear orders; it was actually talking to Ahsoka down in Hampton Roads.

"**ZOCOM Reinforcements inbound; please stand by for their arrival."** EVA reported to Ahsoka down in Hampton Roads, with Rex overhearing it, and Tex, who still had open communications with Rex, then heard Lt. Sarah Granger's reply, "This is Zone Raider Lt. Sarah Granger; please stand by, _Talon_, while we come in to clean up."

"ZOCOM? Hah, she won't need them! She can take out that whole base by herself!"

Rex gave a 'heh' noise, and then said, "You better hope she didn't hear that, or she _will_ take that base out alone." _Or die trying…_ Rex thought. Ahsoka might have matured considerably since they had been Chronoshifted to Earth, but she still overestimated her personal abilities at times… and wasn't afraid to own up to it, whatever the cost was, if she failed, and she had nearly done so several times before they had even been Chronoshifted to Earth.

"Right… Tex, get to that War Factory already and get those stabilizers fixed. The rest of you with me, we're gonna clean the coast of anything Nod. Grenadiers, you guys find APC's to throw from?"

"Right on, Commander!" responded a lead Grenadier, "Just mark a building for us."

"This is Bravo One, I repeat, Bravo One, we're pinned down just north of the Outpost, Nod's got these buildings garrisoned and the civilians trapped in the Airfield's main waiting rooms… think the Noddies are going for turning them against GDI with propaganda, we aren't seeing any civilians around our position... Little help would be appreciated!"

"Roger that Bravo One! Wagner, Von Ensiling, Cedric, with me." Rex said, as three Titans moved to support position with him. "Joric, you're grenadiers ready?"

"_They_ aren't ready for us, Commander; we're in an APC and ready to roll."

"Then let's go help some Bravos. Titans, target any Nod tanks, Joric, your boys clean out those buildings."

The Titans suppressive fire and heavy guns/armor drew Nod's fire, allowing the GDI Grenadiers to get free throws into Nod's entrenched troops. Four strategically thrown grenades was all it took for GDI to clean a building out, for they were AI guided and rocket propelled to get inside for maximum building clearance.

"Bravo One here, we're clear. We can spot for your Battleship's big guns. We got three other Bravo Squads pinned down, think you could help them?"

"Easily, just shoot us their coordinates." Rex said.

GDI forces were now garrisoning the buildings to establish a strong foothold on the beach. Rex, with the coordinates in hand, helped clean out Nod's forces with his small strike team. The other Titans and Mammoth Tanks went toe-to-toe with Nod's armor, winning. Nod had gained the early advantage with superior numbers and surprise, but now, that was starting to wane, and it was quite clear to Rex now as he drove a Titan over a dead militant squad; crushing the bodies beneath the Titan's heavy feet.

The last of the Bravos rescued, and the other Tiberium refinery in the city recovered by GDI engineers, with Nod's perimeter broken by the Titans, and in larger number, recently landed GDI Predator tanks, they were advancing into the Air force base. And with Hampton Roads secured, reinforcements were coming in from Yellow Zone bases and Red Zone operations alike.

Rex took his squad; called in a couple recently-landed GDI Pitbull ATV's to assist for shooting down Nod's venoms, and with the Mammoth Tank leading the charge, Rex pushed towards the last two hangers that EVA pointed out. Nod tanks and Militants alike attempted to get in the way, but were blown away by the Mammoth Tank and Titans. Advancing to the remaining two hangers in the North-western corner of the Base, Rex looked down at a group of Nod Attack-Bike drivers, who were looking up at him.

"You can surrender, you know." Rex said into a blow horn, pointing his Titan's gun directly at them to get the point across. The drivers looked at each other, and then dismounted the bikes, putting their hands into the air. Rex lowered his Titan's legs, and hopped out, personally cuffing them and searching them for weapons. Glad they were clean, he sent out a general call to all GDI aircraft that they could land, and a couple squadrons of Orcas landed.

"Thanks for the help, we were about to run out of fuel." The lead Orca pilot said, gratefully. "Alright squadron, let's give the good commander some help!"

"Reload and all that good stuff first, Orca Squadron." Rex ordered.

"**Commander,"** EVA reported, **"Nod has a heavy base to the west of the airfields. It is heavily defended against ground attack."**

Rex sighed. Nod had finally decided to stop GDI's armor advance with superior defense… but he reckoned the Orcas would be just perfect. Climbing back into his Titan as GDI Riflemen took the captured Nod soldiers into custody, Rex sent his plan of attack to the squad leaders.

Nod may have been able to deploy and with very much ease maintain base defenses thanks to their odd nanotechnology, but there was a distinct weakness: The hubs used to coordinate it all. If the hubs were destroyed, the connecting turrets fell apart. And the Orca pilots knew that. While the ground forces advanced (knocking Nod Venom aircraft out of the sky to clear way for the Orcas), the Orcas sped in and unleashed their Comet missiles into the hubs, obliterating them, then firing their remaining rockets at any Nod forces in the area. With the defenses down, the GDI ground forces, Predators and Titans leading the charge, moved in for the kill. Nod's large number of on-hand Fanatics desperately tried to stop the advancing GDI forces, but the Riflemen mowed them down like lambs to the slaughter, only a few of them reaching their targets and detonating, blowing and even melting GDI soldiers with their Tiberium explosives, either death by the explosion… or death from the Tiberium poisoning from the explosions. Recovering despite the strike, GDI walked over (and ran over) their dead bodies, obliterating anything Nod in the way. With their casualties minimized by Orca air support and the heavy power of the Titans in comparison to Nod's Scorpion tanks, GDI pushed in, and ended the battle, securing Langley AFB and restoring GDI air power in the area.

A group of Scorpions made a move, trying to hit the exposed flanks, but even with their superior speed, the Scorpion Tanks' armor was no match for the higher firepower power of the Titan or Predator Tank. But while armor wise no match, the Scorpion's 105mm cannon rounds were still enough to damage the Predators and wound crewmen.

"**Commander," **EVA reported, **"ZOCOM reinforcements have arrived, as has the Commando sent down to Hampton Roads, which are now secure for reinforcements."**

"A bit late, Ahsoka." Rex said, activating his comlink, grinning. "You missed all the fun."

"ZOCOM is going to be ticked that a pair of _Talons_ just lead GDI to a sweet pair of victories." Ahsoka responded, the smirk that must have been crossing her face clear to Rex from her tone.

"Well, we'll need ZOCOM for the last push to get Nod out, so let's be glad they showed up." Red responded.

"And I bet General Granger will want to see his daughter again."

"That too."

XXXXXXX

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Back at the Pentagon now, two hours later, Rex and Ahsoka watched the two Grangers talk.

"Sarah." General Granger said finally, forgoing protocol for the moment to greet his daughter, who had just taken her helmet off, revealing to Rex (what he had to admit) was a beautiful face, full of dignity and (Rex guessed) honor she inherited from her father, her golden-brown hair as long as GDI Zone Trooper/Raider regulations allowed, which, since Zone Raider armor included a helmet that was 100% airtight and beyond full body armor, meant down to her shoulders in length, but no longer. Her face was almost looking like it was finely crafted by a smith (or sculptor? The aproperiate metaphor eluded Rex) who loved his work and poured his life into it. Rex couldn't deny it, for her line of work, she was freaking beautiful. Then he recalled; wearing power armor helps a _lot_ with avoiding disfiguring marks… but as Rex looked closer, he could see the faint outlines of what may have been scars, but he couldn't tell.

"Father." She responded. "I'm surprised you let a Talon lead the defenses in DC… not that I'm denying the efficiency they managed to do it."

The elder Granger smiled and said, "He showed a lot of promise, more than he ever would fulfill working on new and experimental weapons to keep Nod contained with, though he was brilliant at that too."

Sarah nodded, and then looked at Ahsoka. "Surprised you didn't try to sign up for Zone Operations Command. You're… ah," she paused a moment, then, choosing her words carefully, "_differences_ wouldn't of been that much of an issue... especially under power armor."

Rex, being hyperaware of the little things of life, noted Sarah glance at Ahsoka's head tails. The story of Tiberium mutation gone extreme held enough water fortunately, as 'weirder' things had occurred… like having the equivalent of a metal plate just under your skin grow and even removed parts of your skin, as well as leaving small, crystalline bits of Tiberium in your skin at various points, like a piece of body jewelry almost, Rex even recalled a 'mutant' having a gun grafted onto his hand by Tiberium infection. This had lead to a derogatory term, 'Shinier', referring to the shine of Tiberium in sunlight. Rex shivered when he heard it the first time; it slapped him in the face of a term he had used to refer to new Clone Troopers, "Shinie". Granger hadn't noticed them yet at this point.

Ahsoka responded however, "No thanks, I don't use power armor, too bulky and it cramps my fighting style."

Fixing some papers, Granger looked at Rex and said, "Well, Commander. You've done good." He paused a second, as if pondering the grammatical failure of the statement, then continued, "DC is back under our control, we also have a new director, Dr. Redmond Boyle, the former GDI treasury commissioner. Look, I know what you're thinking, but that's our succession protocol. Everyone above Boyle in the chain of command went down with the Philadelphia. Look, the good news is Boyle is a sharp man with control of the purse strings, and we need every penny we have to win"- he was cut off by the PA, which announced,

"Excuse me General, I thought you should know- never mind."

"General Granger, Redmond Boyle, this is an honor." Came a voice from behind the two Grangers, and sure enough, Redmond Boyle had come in, and shook General Granger's hand. "Truly."

Catching the look on Granger's face, Boyle continued, "You had no idea I was coming, I apologize, but, I was touring the area and wanted to stop by and offer my gratitude for what you're doing."

_Touring the area huh? For what, to check to make sure your political allies are still in positions of power, or is every other hidey hole compromised?_ Rex thought savagely. He knew that politicians like Boyle wouldn't tour an area so near a war zone unless he was sure it'd be beneficial for him.

Granger, after swallowing, said, "Well don't thank me Director, thank the Commander," and with that, he pointed at Rex.

Boyle smiled at Rex, "Great to have you on our side, you're efforts on the battlefield have been an inspiration to us all. But, I encourage us not to rest on our laurels; we cannot be content to simply take back what is ours in the first place. If Nod wants a war, let's give them one. A war to end their reign of terror, once and for all!" Boyle pointed his cane at Rex, "But first things first, let's finish what you started here in DC. Take back the city. Show the world, the tide has turned."

_Long as you let the Army be the Army, we'll be fine._ Rex thought harshly, but then, in his best officer voice, said, "Of course, sir."

Boyle then noted Ahsoka, who was taking cover behind Rex slowly. _Poor girl,_ Rex thought, remarking a moment that he still thought of her as a young kid, even though she was four years older than him, _Probably thinks he's going to be disgusted at her since he's from the upper echelons of the society, and too many have a disinclination towards mutants... or non-humans, evidently..._ "Ah, this is your… adopted daughter yes. I was reading your InOps files, and it was quite comprehensive, much more than most InOps files. When I heard you had personally destroyed an entire Nod base, I had to admit, I was quite surprised, even Lt. Fullerton and Colonel Nick Parker would have had difficulty doing such a feat, and the way you did too, telling ZOCOM that the Talons are not to be messed with! Just impressive! I bet Nod forces are shaking in their boots now that they know that GDI has a commando who can demolish entire bases with a flair that rivals that of a Homeric epic!"

Ahsoka blushed, or what Rex had assumed to be a blush over the years, as she slid further behind Rex, while Sarah scowled at Boyles back, and the elder Granger frowning, crossing his arms.

"Director," the elder Granger said at last, "Look, she might be one of our toughest, and damn well one of our youngest Commandos ever, but for Christ's sake, she's barely of drinking age and she hasn't had much social contact outside of the troops she fights alongside. Don't intimidate her."

Boyle took a step back, nodding. "My apologies General, but I wanted to make sure she knew our gratitude that one so young; one who had such a horrible childhood, was _not _unappreciated for stepping up beyond reason for her to."

Rex was glad he had his helmet on, because it concealed a snarl that was forming. This random _paper pusher_ was trying to use those who fought and bled, even _nearly died_ on the battlefield for his own political purposes. Rex made a mental note to take any orders from him with a grain of salt, and check any direct orders from him with other commanders.

But, mustering all the serenity of a concerned parent, and a dutiful soldier, he said, "It's alright Director. Now, if you'll excuse us, the three of us," he glanced at the younger Granger, "have a war theatre to close."

"Of course." Boyle said, then nodded to his aide, and left.

"God damn it," Granger said the moment Boyle was out of earshot, "I don't get why he was so interested in you, Ahsoka, but if InOps has a much fuller file than usual, then you got someone's attention, and if that files thorough, it isn't good to be sure."

Rex gulped. He knew he'd have to fill Granger in eventually, but in the middle of a war wasn't the time. The only reason they were able to get away with it was because the Talons were officially a secretive unit, and Mitchell had filed the files out himself, which made most people think that it wouldn't be comprehensive or if it was, it wasn't of their authority to look at.

"So, what's your plan?" The younger Granger said, turning her attention towards Rex.

"Check your EVA, Boyle seems to of sent us our orders." Rex responded as he got an alert that he had new orders.

General Granger went to his Combat Screen, and nodded to Rex, who punched his EVA unit onto the screen. A picture of the White House, with Nod banners, a Scorpion's tale in a triangle with a back round of red, hanging from each pillar.

"The White House?" Ahsoka asked, "Isn't that just a tourist attraction?"

This earned her some harsh glares from the two Grangers, the younger of which said, "It's a historic landmark, but from a military prospective…" she hesitated, as if it somewhat hurt admitting the practical value of what was likely a part of her national heritage, "yes. That's all it really was. We didn't run central command or anything from it, for obvious reasons. Only thing we really had there was a small security base to make sure Nod didn't try to blow it up and because well, morale."

"Unfortunately," the elder Granger said, looking at the recon footage now being streamed on his Combat Screen, "It looks like Nod chose to establish a full base there… one that's going to let them regroup and attack. You three will have to hit it hard, fast, and before they can bring the reinforcements in."

"Looks like Nod also built two secondary bases as well… and there's no way we can bring in a large strike force, look at all those Avatars at the forward base." Ahsoka said, coming out and pointing at the screen where Nod had built a heavy frontal base… that was lacking considerably in anti-air defense except for some outside air defense… that was exposed. "But our Firehawks might stand a chance."

"If a small team knocks those SAMs out, we could easily bomb the hell out of the area with Firehawks." Rex said, "Not a bad idea." He wondered how Nod left that exposed…

"Well, your Titans won't get past those things without serious casualties, and ZOCOM doesn't have the heavy armor to match that, so we'll have to pull that one. We'll bring in three pincers, you'll lead the middle, and show Nod the Talons steel. I'll take a force up the left flank, and take out the power, while Ahsoka then leads a team to destroy the Nod shrine built near Sammy's, then we hit Nod from all sides, and smash them together." Sarah explained.

"Rex," General Granger explained, "You'll want to establish a forward base near the Nod forward base once you've destroyed it with Firehawks, get a solid position dug in and hold out until the Lieutenants complete their missions, then bring in the heavy armor and knock on Nod's door with C4. But not too much, we'd like to keep the White House white, not Rail Gun black."

XXXXXX

**Author's Notes:**_** REVISED EDIT**_

_**The major change here was a lot more added to the Pentagon defense; it was supposed to be, in my mind, something along the lines of the defensive end of a World War One trench battle. And of course, Havoc's obligatory badassery that I forgot to put in earlier. Don't worry, dear readers, I'll expand upon it next chapter before giving the badass a break.**_

_**Also, expect the descriptors of the action to get intensified; I'll try to keep it under rated 'M', but to get the point that C&C really has, ya'know, **_**WAR**_** and all that goes with it, I'm going to try and expand the scenes. Call it a literary form of scenery porn.**_

**_Timeline wise, the first three DC Nod missions (Andrews, White House, and Hampton Roads) happen simultaneously, with mission three being in between that and the Pentagon hit. Assume Ahsoka had a long fight to slug it through from Sammy's joint to the Pentagon; probably had to take an extended route or somesuch because of insane numbers._**

**_And yes, I'm American. Did I feel bad about having Ahsoka say the White House was a tourist attraction? Well, considering that in 2047, the US isn't exactly a functioning government, by that point, that's all it really was, a historic sight. I dunno, that stuck out to me durring the rewrite as particularly insensative._**


	3. Chapter 3: Shades of White

_Excellent work, Commander, you're forces have done well. I'm transferring you away, however, the local officers can take over from here, you are needed elsewhere to help unveil… phase two._

- Kane to the (to be known) Legendary Insurgent, shortly before the Pentagon attack after taking out a GDI resupply base near the Pentagon

**Chapter 3: Shades of White**

**Outside the White House**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Alright squad," Ahsoka said to the small GDI strike team she was leading, "Let's level those SAMs."

Ahsoka took the right, slightly better guarded side (as well as the one that had a mysteriously new Tiberium field…), while the GDI squad took the left side. Militants were patrolling, but GDI snipers had snuck to nearby buildings, and were now picking them off one by one. Ahsoka rushed up to her target SAM site, and strapped C4 to the turret's 'hub' before running away, bullets flying after her as a group of militants tried to aim for her, and she pressed the detonate button as she ran, obliterating the SAM hub, and it's turrets soon followed in destruction.

The GDI squad had fired their rockets at the SAM, blowing it up. With Nod now responding, the squad sergeant was shouting "Run away! Run Away!"

"Captain Horn, you are clear for Firehawk strike!" Ahsoka shouted.

"Roger that, Firehawks inbound."

As Nod forces tried to react, realizing they were about to be bombed and had been sabotaged but their defense would be for naught. Firehawks flew in with wing pair formations, and dropped their bombs into the Nod base. As more and more Firehawks flew in, Nod forces desperately tried to return fire, but failed, being blown apart by the quite thorough bombing by the Firehawks. Ahsoka saw one of the militants, screaming for dear mercy, were sent flying into the skies, far beyond what should be possible, and land, his body almost shattering with impact.

"LZ clear," Ahsoka reported via radio, "Rex, bring in the MCV!"

GDI forces advanced into the area, some landed by Ox transport, others by foot. Steel Talon Titans, GDI Predator Tanks, Pitbulls, APC's, a Mammoth Tank, and plenty of Infantry. ZOCOM also arrived, their elite Infantry forces coming in quickly, suited up in either Zone Armor or ZOCOM's Tiberium Field Suits.

Ahsoka took a glance at the green Tiberium field that shouldn't have been there, and apparently the GDI soldiers noticed it too, for one shouted:

"Those _BASTARDS_, they're spreading Tiberium!"

"Well let's blow them up then," another one said, "We got the armor for it now! Bring up the Mammoth!"

"Its payback time!" shouted Nick Seymour "Havoc" Parker, who had decided to join the 'fun', and now he was packing a GDI Commando Rail Carbine, as well as enough C4 to demolish Iceland. Twice. And that's doing it left-handed.

"Let's go Raiders!" Lieutenant Sarah Granger said, leading the ZOCOM team up the western side, to hit Nod's power. As Militants attempted to respond, the Zone Raiders revealed the power of their Sonic Grenade Launchers against hordes of poorly-trained-and-armed grunts. The sonic explosions knocked the life out of them as pure sound blasted them away like a rag doll, paving the street with a new material; flesh and bone, quite often disrupted into such a mess that it was indistinguishable from its neighboring parts.

Ahsoka lead a team of GDI infantry up the East flank, taking point and cutting Militants down with ease using her lightsaber, the GDI soldiers with her covering her by forcing the enemy to take cover while she parried what she could.

XXXX

Rex started using his recently arrived MCV for field-building a base in the space that was once used for the GDI Northeastern Admin center, getting power, barracks, an armory, and War Factories ready to field assemble more tanks if the crews got clear of their tanks if said tanks were too damaged or destroyed, arm GDI infantry, and tent to any wounded. He also had the construction yard build a Refinery; to start cleaning up the Tiberium that Nod had spread. He knew the base was _very_ temporary, but if the battle became a siege, he'd need it. _Be glad there's plenty of room to set it up Rex,_ he remarked to himself, _You rarely get that in urban combat without something crazy like building on a tennis field… and then the paperwork, oh the paperwork…_ As more Titans and Predators arrived, Nod fled back to their bases, with the proverbial tails between their legs.

"Haha, the bastards don't like the odds now!" Shouted an eager Titan pilot, Tex, who then cursed, saying, "What the- Where'd the Nod base go?"

"What?" Rex asked, surprised, pulling binoculars up to his helmet's faceplate. And sure enough, the main Nod base had vanished; save for a few odd towers resembling a three clawed hand… a few columns of the White House had even disappeared.

"Commander," Kirce reported from InOps, "Nod has built Disruption Towers to conceal their base. You'll need to take them out or you'll be fighting blind inside."

"Lieutenant Granger," Rex said, "Looks like you knocking out those power plants is a high priority. I'm sending you a trio of Titans to support you."

"Right, just infantry trying to stop us, but we appreciate the gesture." Sarah responded.

Rex hung up, and then looked in surprise as GDI soldiers were shot dead out of no where. Rex, thinking it was a sniper attack, instinctively ducked, fortunately as several bullets flew above him where his head had been mere seconds ago. _Shadow Teams!_ Rex thought, activating his helmets detection systems. Having the construction yard build Watchtower turrets to stop any more, and shooting any Shadow Team he spotted with his pistols, he had EVA scan the area. Once he had the results, he called Ahsoka; "Ahsoka, Nod's using Sammy's for Shadow Teams to complete whatever pre-mission rituals they do… and probably Fanatics as well."

"Got it Rex, we'll stick to the buildings to avoid Shadow Teams." Ahsoka responded.

Rex however, had a bigger problem. Nod was bringing reinforcements in via tunnel network, and now he had Scorpion Tanks, Attack Bikes, Flame Tanks, and Raider Buggies trying to dislodge him from his position. While his armored forces were holding firm, they'd have to end the source sooner or later.

"Where'd Havoc go?" Rex asked, realizing that EVA had lost track of him.

"**I do not have him on radar."**

XXX

Ahsoka cut another Nod Shadow down, the (modern) ninja's lifeless body collapsing, his dual pistols clattering on the ground like a discarded sword. Ahsoka now sported several gunshot wounds that her armor caught, but these Shadows were doing a number on her squad.

"Alright," Ahsoka said finally, "You guys hole up here and keep them contained, I'll finish this myself."

"Ma'am," said one of the Sergeants, "You won't make it. We can slug through this, it's just a matter of time."

"And none of you know how to infiltrate ahead, nor can we survive all those Shadows. Get into position to give the others the right-flank support; so that once we make the final push, we can do it effectively." Ahsoka said, "I'll be fine."

Creeping ahead, using every trick of stealth she knew, Ahsoka slipped past a few Shadow Teams and Fanatics, but finally, a team saw her.

"End her pitiful existence!" the lead Shadow shouted, and they brought their dual pistols to bear on her. Ahsoka instinctively rolled out of the way, but still got a bullet to the leg, the armor, once more, catching it, leaving at worst a small bruise. _GDI has brilliant body armor,_ she thought, _Wonder if the Clone Commando's had this good armor…_

Unfortunately, the Fanatics noticed the fight, and one shouted, "_It is time!" _and charged, the others following. She leapt behind a dumpster; quickly taking out her Rail Carbine, then came out and gave the Fanatics a couple bursts, mowing them down. The Shadow Teams however, used the moment to use their gliders to glide up to the top of the building, and started shooting at her from above. Rolling out of the way, letting her instincts guide her, Ahsoka sent bursts up, forcing the Shadows to take cover.

She pulled the pin from a grenade and, with a little Force assistance, threw it up on top of the building. A sonic boom erupted, and the 4-man Shadow Team came flying down into the alley… dead, but weather it was from the grenade or the impact of a four-story fall, she didn't want to know. Moving quickly and quietly, Ahsoka reached Sammy's. She strode into Sammy's, and looked at the Nod Militants who were helping themselves to some of Sammy's best. Realizing that a GDI commando had just walked in, the Militants tried to charge her… but Ahsoka shot first. Several Nod Shadows rushed out, guns akimbo, but Ahsoka blocked the bullets with her saber and cut down all the remaining Nod soldiers in the building.

As she strode out, she glanced at the table; someone was playing chess when the fight broke out, and by the looks of the pieces, it was off-duty Nod members using an official Nod set… she ended the game, moving a red Rook (an Obelisk of Light) at the black King (Kane, who else?), then walked out to finish the real battle.

XXXXX

Havoc shot another Nod militant in the head as he fought through the alleyways. Another Nod soldier rushed at him, but Havoc shot the gun out of the militant's hands, broke his wrist as he tried to hit Havoc in melee, and hurled him into a group of fanatics, blowing the whole group apart, yet still more poured out of the tertiary Hand of Nod. _Do they ever run outta guys? _Havoc wondered, before shouting, "Keep 'em coming!"

He laid down suppressive fire with his borrowed rail carbine, ripping the militants apart as they tried to take him on, spilling out of the underground Hand as if they were emptying the bowels of the facility. Havoc really wondered how GDI missed the fact a Hand of Nod was being built under their noses in disguise as a large apartment complex… with all the rooms all-to-quickly claimed.

Entering the Hand, Havoc hurled a grenade into the mess hall, and was satisfied to hear a militant shout "Oh SHIT!" before being blown apart; along with the rest of the room. Havoc entered and saw that, to his great irritation, the Nod propaganda screen was still playing. He pulled out his handgun (affectionately called 'Eva', after the EVA units used by GDI), and shot the screen, blowing it out. He then kicked a door open, shooting his way through a pair of Nod chefs (who attempted to grab guns themselves), and strode past, entering the armory, where a Confessor was giving a last-minute crash course to a group of Militants before they went to get slaughtered by GDI. Havoc shot the Confessor, hitting him in the eye through his helmet _It wasn't hard_, Havoc decided,_ I have four openings to shoot though._

Rolling back and out as the militants were shocked, he switched to his rail carbine and came back around, killing all the Militants before they fully got their wits. As Havoc was about to enter the next room (which he hoped was the communications suite), he heard a whimper…

One of the militants, now missing an arm, was still alive. He was mouthing something at Havoc… he leaned in, out of curiosity,

"Please…" the militant whispered, "I… had no choice… they… threatened my family…"

"Yeah right!" Havoc said obnoxiously loud and kicked the militant over. "If you didn't have a choice, why didn't you defect to GDI? Don't answer, I know you're lying."

The dying militant's eyes widened, and he said, "You're… no better… then Kane then…" Something in his eyes registered disappointment… as if seeing the worst of GDI… or their best, but their best blinded by a 50-year hatred…

Havoc roared, outraged he was being compared do Kane, "Do NOT say I'm like that madman, murderer!" with that, Havoc picked him up and threw him into a terminal, Havoc recognizing it as one of Nod's memorial terminals placed in all Hands of Nod and listing (to Havoc's surprise when he discovered them), every Nod soldier that was KIA. And such was an even greater task considering their high mortality rates.

Havoc somehow felt he should have pitied the militant, but he shook the thought out of his head: He was Nod, he deserved to die. Striding into the next room and mowing down the enemy soldier inside, he accessed the communications console, punching in a code that he had… liberated from the Nod databanks, which would allow him to call Kane directly.

Kane appeared, "Havoc… why do you interrupt me?"

"I just wanted to say 'Hi'," Havoc answered, "And to ask… could you come by DC for tea today? The Generals want to give you some." He knew Kane wasn't going to fall for it, but he really just wanted to piss Kane off, to force the supposedly 'detached' man to show true anger.

"No, I think not." Kane answered, giving a controlled scowl, "After seeing Naida at work, I make my own tea. A word of warning, Havoc… this war is far beyond what you can comprehend. As a professional courtesy, I suggest you remain in DC for the rest of the war and continue being a… what is it you do now? Ah yes, being part of a GDI radio show, as a conservative pundit, discarded by the GDI leaders who'd rather avoid your… virulent mouth and un-heroic tactics."

"Hey, I chose to retire… wait, stay out of the war? And miss all the fun? I still remember blowing up your World Altering Missile with McNeil! The look on your puny commander's face was pure heaven!" He mocked the face and said in a taunting tone, almost childish in sound, "Oooh, look at me, I'm a big-bad Nod commander who praises Kane! Oh noes! Someone blew up the missile! Oh shi!" he tilted his head and let the tongue hang out, as if imitating a dead guy in a (violent) Saturday morning cartoon.

"So be it." Kane said, before cutting the transmission.

"**Self Destruct Activated."** Said a deep male voice, Havoc glanced down, and saw a big red number…

Havoc sprinted out, escaping just as the facility self-destructed.

XXXXXX

Lieutenant Sarah Granger's squad advanced up the street, mowing Nod's militants down.

_Friggen Talons,_ she thought as another Nod squad got blown away by her grenade launcher, _always thinking that superior armor solves everything. It can't solve Tiberium, can it?_

"Hey, you scratched my suit!" Shouted one of the Zone Raiders, who took a couple bullets to the chest, the armor held and was far from compromised, but it did leave a few long scratches from the bullets. She paid the Militants who got the hits off back with a sonic grenade, blowing their eardrums apart and killing them painfully, easily causing his brain to explode from the sheer volume.

ZOCOM advanced, clearing houses with quick and lethal efficiency, the sonic grenades cleaning out the buildings with a super-sonic _thud_.

Rex's three Titans had arrived, and were doing a good job at drawing fire for the ZOCOM infantry, as well as dealing with the Raider Buggies that were coming to try and hit the flank.

Ten minutes of slugging it out later, they reached the power. Getting into the now-cleared civilian buildings, they launched grenade after grenade, missile after missile, at the Nod power plants, destroying them and making them collapse. Nod's power was cut, while in the east a pair of explosions rocked the ground. Nod's base was once more visible.

XXXXXXX

Rex, now in a lead Titan once more, saw the Nod base materialize.

"The Nod base is visible, all units, _**FORWARD**_!" He shouted, moving his Titan forward. The Steel Talon's armor, backed up with standard GDI tanks, were beginning to carve a path through Nod's desperate attempts to counter-attack.

GDI's armor advanced, blowing Scorpion Tanks into splinters, Flame Tanks into ash, and sending Attack Bikers to a one-way date with the ground. As the armor moved to engage the Titans, Ahsoka's forces from the East, and Granger's from the West, moved in, hitting the base from it's now undefended sides. Nod militants, the remainder of the garrison, spilled out _en masse_, all at once in a desperate attempt to defeat the GDI forces.

XXX

Sergeant Louise James leapt over the wreckage of a Scorpion tank, her squad right behind her. Taking advantage of the cover, her squad proceeded to shoot its way through, backed by all the other GDI squads in the area. Ducking as several bullets ricocheted off the wreckage of a Predator Tank destroyed when Nod took the White House, she reloaded, then rose, her squad finishing the militant squad off.

She felt something hit her leg; a bullet, but the composite armor she was wearing held it. Pulling her auxiliary grenade from her belt, she threw it at the militant squads ahead, ones armed with stolen GD-2 rifles. They didn't see it coming, and the grenade blasted them, leaving them stunned or dead, but all were blown away from the epicenter.

Black Hand flame troopers advanced behind the wave of meat shields, bringing their flamethrowers to bear. As one was about to incinerate James' squad, a flash of green and someone came down in front of her, stabbing the enemy soldier in the head, causing him to collapse.

"You alright?" asked their mysterious savior, turning her head.

"Thanks, Lieutenant!" James answered, taking a few shots into the disciple's head. Ahsoka frowned at her.

"Just emptying the clip," James said, pulling the now-empty clip out and shoving another one in.

XXX

The Nod forces, despite their best attempts, were crushed by the GDI forces, who were now marching literally _on top_ of the wreckage of Scorpion Tanks. Firing their heavy guns into the various Nod field buildings, causing them to explode and fall apart, GDI's armor brought the battle to an end.

Dismounting from his Titan, Rex found Havoc, and they entered the White House itself, and removed Nod's banners and replaced them with GDI, replacing the Scorpion's tail with the GDI Eagle. The sun setting, GDI forces began to clean up the carnage.

The Battle for Washington DC was over.

But begun, the Third Tiberium War had.

XXXXXXX

**Thirty-Five Minutes Later**

Ahsoka pulled the corpse out of the wreckage, and sighed; another confirmed casualty. They were still tallying up the casualties, and trying to save those who could be saved. It was almost to the time where they had saved all who could be; anyone who was still alive and wounded would have to have insane mental fortitude, never mind physical fortitude, to survive this long after the battle.

She glanced behind her and saw Havoc kicking some scrap as he walked up to her. "Ahsoka." Havoc said, offering his hand, "Nice job."

"Thanks," Ahsoka said hesitantly, taking his hand and shaking; she knew it was praise coming from him, but still, Havoc liked fighting far _too_ much for her.

"Anyways, soon as you finish up here, come on over to Sammy's, he's opening up the kegs and he wants to thank you _personally_ for clearing his bar out."

"Uh… sure." Ahsoka said, surprised as Havoc walked off.

She heard someone groan, and looked over; a downed Nod militant, somehow alive still… she rushed over, and pushed the other dead militants off of the soldier; he was bleeding heavily, his hand on it to try and stop the bleeding. Ahsoka didn't hesitate, activating her wrist EVA uplink, she said, "I found a live one, with him now. He'll need a medic."

The medics still had men available, and one was coming over. He looked at the militant, and snorted in disgust, "You called me over for a noddie? Sergeant James wants me to help actual people not…"

"You know GDI's regulations, after a battle, you try and minimize the loss of life, either GDI or Nod."

"Ma'am, there are other soldiers, _GDI_ soldiers, who need my help while we waste time here."

Ahsoka stared at him, "You'll help him, or I'll make a note to General Granger that you're refusing your duties. Lieutenant outranks a medic, and I also outrank your sergeant."

The medic scowled, "Fine." With that, he got to work, not bothering to apply painkiller nor was he gentle, but Ahsoka couldn't ask for more; most of the soldiers found were dead, so finding a live one was important.

"There, done." The medic said as the militant's bleeding stopped, "He's not bleeding out. You want me to get him a coffee or something?"

"Are you _sure?_" Ahsoka asked, "And can't you give him some painkiller?"

"Why waste it?" the medic snorted, "Now, I think I've followed the Geneva Convention, so if you'll excuse me, I have actual lives to save."

XXXXXXX

**Sammy's Bar & Pizza Joint, Fourteen Hours Later**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Rex, Ahsoka, and all the regulars who survived the battle had finally gotten a chance to sit down and relax before the next campaign. Soldiers came in and out as shifts came and went, but generally, they got something to drink, and watched the news until their next shift came.

Cassandra Blair was once more reporting, outside the ruins of the Northeastern Administration building, the remains of demolished Nod Avatars still lying there alongside other Nod wreckage that had been left; there were signs of battle at the Nod 'win' at the Admin center, but the wreckage of GDI tanks (and there were a number of destroyed tanks) had been removed prior or hidden.

"Well, only 24 hours ago, this entire northeastern Blue Zone was under siege from Nod, GDI forces were overwhelmed, and their command center was about to fall, and the fate of the world _literally_ hung in the balance. But one brave GDI battle commander, who our GDI insiders have only identified as 'Rex',"

A series of cheers and shouts from the men directed towards Rex occurred once he was mentioned,

"Lead a string of victories that seemed to _inspire_ yet more GDI victories all over the globe."

As the music for the William Frank hour played, Nick 'Havoc' Parker raised his glass, shouting,

"A toast, I purpose, to GDI's best new Commander, Rex!"

"Here here!" shouted Tex, her leg in a bandage due to a Nod bullet piecing her cockpit during the White House attack.

The special guest for that news was Director Redmond Boyle. Sitting at a table across from each other, William Frank began the interview.

"It's heartening to know that GDI has really come out swinging."

"Yes," Boyle said, "It's quite heartening indeed. We're putting up one hell of a fight out there. But William, I disagree with your assessment that the outcome of the war is still in doubt. There is _no_ doubt in my mind that GDI will prevail. We will have the Will, the Resources, and most importantly, Support of the _People_. The public wants payback, an eye for an eye. And that is exactly what I'm going to give them."

"The question then," William retorted, "seems to be, _can_ you deliver on these promises? Several conflict analysts, including our most experienced, Nick "Havoc" Parker, are citing your lack of wartime experience as a cause for concern."

"I believe in my generals and commanders," Boyle said confidently, leaning back on his chair. "They are the best of the best, and I believe they deserve the trust of myself and my administration, but the trust of the _people_. Because William, that is who we are fighting_ for_! Who we are fighting to _protect_! Undermining the trust between the people and their protectors is, I believe, a mistake."

"Still," William responded, "GDI still isn't fully mobilized for war, as I recall, most GDI bases outside of the major cities and research labs are shut down and left to rot, and it seems Nod has more forces than any of us could have believed."

"Maybe, but if our commanders could pull out victories with just the troops they were able to rally when the shooting started, I am confident, that they shall prevail." Boyle leaned closer,

"Let me tell you, William, about Washington DC. A brave commander, Commander Rex, not only held the Pentagon against vastly superior numbers, he _retook_ Langley AFB with just the forces that could be spared from the Pentagon and the reinforcements that could be scrounged up. And not only that, his _daughter, _one of GDI's _toughest_ commandos ever, took out an entire Nod base at Hampton Roads, clearing the way for GDI to regroup, and not only this, she did it, _**single handedly**_**, **a feat that even the famed Colonel Nick "Havoc" Parker had difficulty doing!"

"SHAAAD UP!" Parker shouted, pointing his (emptied) handgun at the screen and mimicking blowing the screen up, complete with the sound effects of a gun going off, since apparently, the gun created a bang even if it was empty. This earned Parker some weird glances from other soldiers, and a dirty one from Sammy.

Continuing the broadcast, William responded,

"And what of Lieutenant Sarah Granger, daughter of General Jack Granger at the Pentagon?"

"Her timely arrival to help finish taking back DC with ZOCOM sure saved a number of lives, that's for sure." Boyle responded simply, almost as if she was a political afterthought.

The news flickered, Kane had made another broadcast, and, in anticipation, GDI went to grab their guns.

"While GDI may win this… _Temporary_ victory," Kane was saying, "Know that they will fall, their blood shall _water_ the fields of our _transformed _world! The Technology of **PEACE**, is what Nod wields." And with that, the broadcast cut.

"Peace my shiner metal ass." Commented one of the Forgotten members of GDI, with steel covering the back of his head and looking like it went down his back.

"Don't worry," one of his friends joked, "Kane's just being Blunt, as usual."

This drew chuckles from the patrons of the joint. 'Shiner' and 'Blunt' were slang terms, used to refer to those infected by Tiberium and thus mutated, and someone unaffected by Tiberium at all, respectively.

Rex's helmet beeped; he put it on. Granger had sent him a message.

"Commander, get to the Pentagon, ASAP. Bring the lieutenant too."

Rex pulled the helmet off and pulled Ahsoka away from some of the young ladies of the Steel Talons (who returned to their gossip unabated).

"What's going on?" Ahsoka asked quietly.

"Granger wants to meet us ASAP." Rex answered.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Commander, Lieutenant." Granger said, a hand on the manual controls for his Combat Screen, "No matter what you've seen on the news, you mark my words this war is far from over. We _still_ got a number of Blue Zones that could go either way, but that's not what's bothering me, come 'ere." He gestured Rex to come closer, to one of the smaller screens. A meaningful glance from Ahsoka was all Rex needed to know something was _very_ wrong. If Granger wasn't worried about Blue Zones potentially falling, something had to be big. The General whispered, "InOps has been interrogating a number of Nod POWs, and come across a number of spotty, similar threads, here, take a look." He punched up a button, bringing up an image of a Nod soldier.

_Hey,_ Rex thought, _That's one of the guys who surrendered to me at Langley AFB._

The Nod soldier began to talk, with the air of a fanatically loyal crazy.

"This is only… the beginning. Fire… will fall from the skies. Disease will… _waste_ your _bodies_. And your **souls**… will cry… for **FORGIVENESS,** when _**KANE…**_ unleashes _**FURY!**_" The video feed cut once the long shout of 'fury' ended.

General Granger looked at the glances from Rex and Ahsoka, then said, "It could… be typical Nod rhetoric. But to me… it sounds like they're getting ready to use… WMDs, and that's why I'm sending you to North Africa. If Nod's got the goods, that's where you'll find them. Hopefully, a preemptive strike will nip this nightmare in the bud." Rex turned to leave, but then, "Oh Commander, let's… keep this one off the radar, the public's already scared enough. Sandra is busy putting details together; you get the perfect picture from Kirce. I'd tell you everything now, but Boyle is dragging me to the new GDI council he's putting together to try and 'reassure the public that GDI is coming back together'." Granger snorted, turning to his computer, "Anyways, you won't get Talon or ZOCOM help for this, since this is supposed to be a smaller, under the table operation, but it's still official." Grabbing a folder, Granger left, while Rex and Ahsoka waited a polite minute, then left as well.

Walking down the hallway to go to InOps, Ahsoka asked, "So, North Africa. Great, let's just hope we don't run into a Nod foundry pounding out something that'll make the Mammoth look like a kids' toy, because being trapped under a few thousand tons of rubble once is enough, thank you."

Rex chuckled weakly, then said, "No, I don't think Nod's gonna have somethin' like that. Though if they do… we'll be stuck. The Ion Cannon is still offline according to Lieutenant Granger."

"Oh, little miss priss?" Ahsoka asked; her lip curling into a frown.

"Yeah. Apparently when Goddard got hit, the communications between Ion Cannons and Earth got pretty screwy, so General Granger ordered no Ion Cannon strikes until we can get solid, direct reconnection. The chances of accidents are too great with them doing manual targeting."

**XXXXXX**

**GDI InOps Combat Operations Center**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Commander, Lieutenant." Kirce said, "The situation in North Africa is still very fluid. Egypt is the primary target. As you know, it was where Kane met his defeat in the 2nd Tiberium War at the hands of General McNeil. Anyways, we've just learned an irrigation plant just outside of Casabad is a front for a Nod chemical weapons factory. To the north is the fort of Alexandria where Nod is distributing their weapons to the rest of the world."

_Sounds like an average job back in the Grand Army… _Rex thought, _Probably gonna get a lot worse…_

As if he had jinxed it… Kirce continued, "Unfortunately, it get's worse. We believe Nod is assembling _nuclear weapons_ at an underground facility in Northern Cairo, which may explain why the area is so heavily defended. Anyway, the first step in cleaning up this sector is to take out that chemical plant in Casabad. I've already arranged for Zone Troopers to set up a forward encampment so that you can land and take command quickly, then end this nightmare before Nod can scramble reinforcements. We'll have scientists ready to start examining all the data you can acquire. ZOCOM was forced out Africa entirely yesterday after that mysterious Nod commander from the Rio Uprising and Nod's reclamation of their stealth tech, had destroyed _three_ of our experimental Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicles, so be ready to punch out immediately if he turns his attention to you."

"Right, we'll get there ASAP." Rex said, turning heel and leaving.

After assembling a strike team, he got onboard the GDI transport that would take his initial strike force to the new Casabad base.

XXXXX

**Revise Author's Notes:**_I'm moving the fanfic in a bit more of a grittier direction to get the point across that they're in a war, as such, brutality between GDI and Nod soldiers will increase to emphasize the point._


	4. Chapter 4: The Sands of Time

_This worked in the Second Tiberium War, it should work here. You must channel the enemy like water in this region, damn the attacking flow around their targets in Brazil. This Yellow Zone is our most pressing concern; we have a lab here drawing heavy GDI fire and Kane insists we hold this facility at any costs against its Steel Talon aggressors. Be aware that this is not General Mitchell himself; fortunately, it's one of his newer commanders… I wish I could tell you more, but even I do not know what is going on inside of there, save that it's twin in Egypt is compromised by GDI, Kane is returning to Sarajevo now from that disaster._

- Nod General Kilian Qatar to the to-be-known Legendary Insurgent

_What I hear is that Kane is building some kinda big Tiberium weapon down there, hence the hush hush. Well, you know Kane; he knows GDI can't miss it, so he had multiple labs. ZOCOM took out the one in Japan, and that bastard from DC and his abomination daughter are blasting the one in Egypt. We're going to wipe out GDI in one big bang… man, is Kane a brilliant or what? Anyways, GDI's throwing the old monkey wrench…_

- Nod Agent Ajay to the to-be-known Legendary Insurgent

**Chapter 4: The Sands of Time**

**Airspace near GDI Field Base Alpha-Beta-Tau**

**Ten Kilometers North of Casabad, Egypt**

**Yellow Zone Y-2**

"Alright men," Rex said to those aboard, "We're going in commando style. We'll go in, hit that damn Chemical Weapons plant, steal the data, lace the place with enough C4 to blow up a Nod temple, then punch out to watch the fireworks. Am I understood?"

"Sir yes sir!" Shouted the GDI soldiers in unison.

Landing just outside of the base, Rex and his initial landing force disembarked from their Ox transports.

"Get me the lead Zone Trooper." Rex said to his communications 'officer'.

"Zone Trooper Scipio-Three, come in. I repeat, Zone Trooper Scipio-Three, _come in!_" A GDI Sniper, equipped with spotting gear, was trying to hail the Zone Troopers at the base. "The transmission went out; think the base is under attack."

"Let's go!" Rex ordered, cocking his dual pistols and moving ahead, Ahsoka right at his side. Reaching the field base, they found Zone Troopers, soldiers equipped with heavy suits of power armor, their faces covered by a strong, black-colored faceplate, and armed with smaller, more portable versions of the famed GDI Rail Guns. Each shot they fired took out an entire line of Militants, and if used right, can _really_ cause havoc with vehicles. Unfortunately, the bulky nature of the guns and the hefty design of the Zone armor made aiming against small targets a pain in the ass, thus Troopers often focused fire on one target to overpower it with the powerful Rail Gun heavy bullets. But, much to everyone's surprise, the suits were quite mobile when it came to running, resulting in Zone Troopers being equivalent to an 'Infantry Tank', and in squads of four, these Troopers were a common sight in GDI's Red Zone and Yellow Zone missions.

Ahsoka leapt ahead, cutting into the Militants with her lightsaber, while Rex and the GDI soldiers he brought opened fire on others. Caught off guard, the Nod forces were routed in less than thirty seconds.

"Thanks for the help Commander, let's _rail_ some vehicles!" the lead Zone Trooper said, cocking his rail gun confidently after putting another bullet into his rail gun.

Nod Venom flew over the base, and Rex nodded to a pair of Missile soldiers, who aimed, got a lock, and fired. The two Venom, surprised by the GDI rockets, went down, one of the soldiers shouting at the falling Venom pilots, "That's for Cap'n Hunter you BASTARDS!"

Rex inspected the base. A couple barracks complexes, a Tech Center and Armory for Infantry outfitting and keeping the Trooper gear maintained, two power plants, and, Rex noted, it was built around a Tiberium Spike. "Nice spike, boys." Rex said to the Zone Troopers.

"It's GDI owned, if you want to see the paperwork." The lead Zone Trooper said. "Nod's harvested all the Tiberium, so spikes are the only way we're getting any Tiberium for refining as replacement ammo and armor parts."

Rex nodded. GDI, while certainly wishing to eradicate Tiberium as a threat to Earth, had made use of it, using heavily refined and purified versions of it, which resulted in normal metals like lead, iron, and bronze, without using the now rare and disappearing veins of it. But before one called GDI 'hypocrites', they needed to remember that GDI preferred to contain Tiberium, having Tiberium Spikes be used to refine it before it spreads out into the environment, rather than use their harvesters to get it once it's polluting the area. ZOCOM, as GDI's primary anti-Tiberium division, was looking for easier ways to assemble Tiberium Spikes, but because the nanotechnology used in Construction Yards was, in many cases, not usable due to Tiberium corrupting the nanoassemblers. But unfortunately, new methods had come forth yet. Thus ZOCOM had invested an untold number of credits into building the Spikes where possible, and, due to the pushing of Redmond Boyle prior to the 3rd Tiberium War and the fact that they were comparable to the old Oil Derricks of the pre-Tiberium era, purchasable at hefty cost to private owners, which had green-lighted a number of GDI projects to keep Tiberium contained.

Credits were a new_**er**_currency based off of the non-Tiberium elements that could be derived from that type of Tiberium, and its associated value on the market. This had, with the collapse of world trade resources due to Tiberium infestation, come to replace more standard Dollars, Euros, Yen, Rubbles, and similar forms of currency. Some die-hard Anti-Tiberium GDI officials had barely accepted it, if they ever did, and it was with heated words, even a couple council-room scuffles. Rex also heard that they had seen it as 'surrender' to Tiberium and its increasing domination of the world. Rex, personally, found private ownership of such a hazardous material to be ill-advised, but the fact that it was purchased at _very_ heavy cost and, in the case of all spikes protected by GDI forces, mostly in Blue Zones since that was where GDI was secure, there was also a tax on the _profits_, after all other expenses, from paying the crewmen to repairing the spike, which meant GDI and it's Council of Directors would get cut of every Tiberium Spike's refined Tiberium 'credits' for use in GDI operations.

The idea was that GDI would use the money from it to fund more Tiberium spikes and reclamation projects, while allowing the world's economy to revitalize and fund combat operations against Nod. Battlefield Commanders were even authorized to, if needed, hijack all a Spike's profits for a period of time during an attack, particularly when needing the refined materials in Tiberium to crank out extra tanks or stamp out equipment for troops… and were expected to provide the legitimate owners with vouchers that they could cash in to cover any lost money… but since they had to go to the GDI administration complexes in Iceland, many who lived outside of GDI Blue Zones were unable to recover lost profits. Rex suspected that more corrupt members of GDI spent funds acquired, either by the 'tax' or by the full load out 'borrowing', on private things such as a fancy estate or a vacation.

If there was one thing he learned in the Steel Talons from the friends he had there: there was always corruption in GDI; the question was where it was in the food chain. Rex recalled one time where he had to blast a corrupt group of GDI soldiers lead by a rogue officer who had been building a fancy little estate using the cover of being a 'GDI Peacekeeping force'… The press, and Nod, had a field day, but it was, fortunately, mostly muzzled by the fact that Rex and his small Steel Talon unit had responded before anyone in the News had even gotten a hold of any information, and went in with enough force to defeat the rogue GDI forces, and minimize civilian losses. _I wonder if that is what got Granger's attention…_ Rex wondered briefly, before shaking his head, bringing himself back to the now, and continued inspecting the base.

Satisfied with the base's establishment, Rex sent in the coordinates to his reinforcements, bringing in a team of five Predator Tanks, a pair of Pitbull ATV's, and a couple squads of GDI infantry, including Riflemen, Missile Troopers, and Sniper Teams.

"Alright EVA, gimmie the data." Rex said to his helmet's built-in EVA link, which sent him new orders from InOps.

"**Commander, the Nod Chemical weapons factory **_**must**_** be removed from Nod's arsenal. Destroy it.**

**Commander, Nod has a series of War Factories just to the north, it is providing Nod with vehicular armor. Destroy it. Zone Trooper Rail Guns are brutally efficient against any Nod vehicles, especially en masse.**

**Commander, Nod has a Hand of Nod to the south of the Weapons Factory, it is connected to their tunnel system and is bringing in more Militants. Destroy it.**

**Complete these primary objectives and the mission will be considered a success."**

Before Rex could transmit orders however, his EVA unit had more for him.

"**Commander, Recon reports no surface Tiberium in the area. Nod is using the local Tiberium Spikes to fund their efforts. Capture those spikes and reroute their resources to GDI for use against Nod."**

Rex frowned. Securing local resources was usually a mission left for clean up squads, or, if the commanders had time to kill, themselves after all hostiles in the area were defeated and mission objectives were complete.

"Eva, confirm source of secondary objective: Secure all Tiberium Spikes."

"**Commander, Secondary Objective to secure Tiberium Spikes was sent as an after-mission objective to bolster GDI against Nod by Lieutenant Kirce James, InOps."**

Rex frowned, it sounded like Boyle to him, securing cash sources… Regardless, he couldn't deny that cutting Nod off from Tiberium was like hanging a meat slab in front of an Attack Dog and taking it away suddenly… and usually just as deadly. But if Rex used the Snipers he brought along effectively, he could quite easily cause Nod forces to fall right into a trap…

He punched up his map, and saw that there were only two other Tiberium Spikes in the area. The one just north of his position he suspected Nod would fold over, given that they'd have no hope of holding onto it without removing GDI from the area, so he'd be able to secure it no problem. The one to the East, near the Hand of Nod however, was going to be a problem, but fortunately, he would be heading in that direction anyways most likely, thus he'd be able to use it to lure Nod's infantry into a trap…

"Ahsoka, take a squad to the northern Tib spike and check for Nod, bring an engineer along, Kirce asked that we secure the Tib spikes for GDI, as well as to cut off Nod's resources." Rex said, "Snipers, take up position on that plateau to the southeast of our position. Zone Troopers; give them a _boost_ would you?"

Ahsoka, taking a couple riflemen and an engineer, went north, and easily secured the unguarded spike. The Snipers, much to their embarrassment, had the Zone Troopers grabbing them like a toddler and jetting onto the plateau with their Jump Jets. The Snipers, after recovering from the experience, set their scopes up and gave Rex the signal that they were ready. With the Zone Troopers, Riflemen, and Missile squads, he advanced towards the Tiberium Spike. An engineer went in and redirected it to GDI command, while the infantry dug GDI Foxholes, and garrisoned.

But Nod did not respond.

Rex sighed, and then noted one of the Sergeants… the same one who helped him in North Carolina.

"Sergeant McCarthy." Rex said, "Please prepare KD."

"Sir?" McCarthy said, surprised.

"You heard me, get KD ready; we gotta piss Nod of somehow so they come at us." Rex said, "You're getting official _permission,_ soldier, or do I have to make it an _order._"

"Oh, right away sir!" McCarthy responded, then, to his men, said, "KD on three!" And a moment later…

"ONE! TWO! THREE!"

"_**KANE'S DEAD!"**_ came a cry from the soldiers of McCarthy's squad… loud and clear.

And a large number of Nod Militants arrived… right on schedule now.

As they began their attack, sniper fire rained down upon the Militants, and Rex's forces unleashed their full arsenal.

But Rex's plan had gone a step to far. Venoms flew in, targeting exposed Zone Troopers, killing an entire squad. But, the fires of GDI's rockets avenged them, stopping any more of that and knocked the Venom out of the skies. Flame Tanks rolled in, but before they could unleash their withering torrent of fire, Zone Troopers fired their Rail Guns onto the tank's exposed fuel tanks, causing it to explode and implode… a paradox Rex would never understand even if he lived a hundred years.

Nod however, had just expended a lot of grunts against a fortified GDI position, and now, Rex had a chance to take out the Hand of Nod.

"Let's GO!" Rex shouted, charging with his loaded Rail Gun DC-15, as GDI's infantry followed him. As his forces demolished the Hand of Nod, he sent in orders to the Predator Tanks and Pitbull ATV's; they were to advance on the chemical weapons plant.

XXXXX

Ahsoka, sitting on one of the Predator Tank's turrets, watched the carnage Rex had caused… with a look of dumb surprise. _How'd he do __that__? They must of used Skyguy's DNA to clone him… either that, or GDI has an entire Jedi Order hidden and they just pulled a __**BIG **__ol' __Mind Trick…_

Overhearing Rex's orders for the Predators to move out, she loaded her Rail Carbine, but kept her lightsaber handy. A group of Zone Troopers was joining them, and they, being in powered suits, were able to keep up with the tanks, despite looking like they'd be slow and clunky.

But Rex's distraction had managed to pull most of Nod's forces away, all that was in their way was a pair of Scorpion Tanks with their 105 millimeter guns flanking a Flame Tank armed with dual Dragon's Tongue Flame Throwers. Advancing on the Predators, the Scorpions opened fire while the flame tank readied to cook GDI Well Done.

Ahsoka had to admire their courage.

And the sheer firepower of GDI's Main Battle Tank.

The fight was over in ten seconds. The three center Predators blew the Flame Tank into so-much scrap with focused fire on the volatile flamethrower nozzles and cockpit, which, combined with the Pitbulls blowing the two fuel tanks up, obliterated the tank, leaving only the ashes that followed its flames and damaging the Scorpions. The outer two Predators began to slug it out with the Scorpions, but when the other Predators and the Pitbulls joined in, the battle was done in a barrage of smoke and fire, and GDI advanced unhindered, though the tanks had some damage from the scrap.

"There's the factory, check your seals boys, and let's turn it to scrap!" Ahsoka said, pointing at the factory.

"Ma'am yes Ma'am!" responded the tank squad's leader, and the GDI Predator Tanks, assisted by the Rail Guns of the GDI Zone Troopers, leveled the factory.

What happened next was a surprise. An explosion resonated from the factory, an explosion... a _green_ hued explosion

"This ain't no chemical weapons plant, they're using Tiberium!" shouted one of the Zone Troopers.

A spike from the factory landing on the Predator Tank which Ahsoka had hitched a ride on, slamming into its left tread and pinning it there.

"Damn it!" cursed one of the Tank Crewmen inside the tank, "That'll take time to fix."

"Rex to Ahsoka, come in!" came a voice on Ahsoka's comlink.

"Right here Rex, what's the word?" Ahsoka responded.

"That was some explosion. I'm sending more Zone Troopers up to help you, not taking chances with the non-protected Infantry."

"Right, send a shielded engineering team as well, one of the Predators are stuck by a large spike from the plant landing in the factory."

"Right. I'm calling in Zone Scientists to check it out, I'll handle that, you take the Zone Troopers and tanks to deal with the Nod war factories just north of your position."

Zone Scientists were pretty much scientists wearing Zone Trooper armor and packing oversized guns that had the same power as a standard rifle, but they weren't for combat, they were for studying Tiberium in the field, and thus were not expected to join in the battle; they usually were attached to Red Zone going units so someone can study any mysterious knowledge or strains of Tiberium.

Advancing north with Zone Troopers, Ahsoka noted how well entrenched Nod was… the natural cliff meant there was only one way in, which a group of Flame Tanks and Scorpion Tanks were guarding, using the rock faces as cover.

But Zone Troopers had Jump Jets.

"Let's go!" Ahsoka said, then activated her Jump Jet, launching up over the cliff and landing, the Zone Troopers landing right behind her. They rushed forward, firing Rail Guns at the flanked vehicles, while Ahsoka set C4 on the power plants, the Nod Operations Center and the two Nod War Factories, which collapsed upon themselves, the underground construction faculties for Nod vehicles now nothing more than collapsed metal. Ahsoka then turned to the enemy tanks… and realized they just did something insanely _stupid_ in their confidence.

XXXXX

Captain Juhziz of the Black Hand shouted as the base exploded behind his tank squad. "All units turn around! Kill those Zone Troopers!"

"This is madness," said his gunner, an Armenian named Ivan, "Don't they know this is suicidal?"

Wiping a bead of sweat, the cramped, insanely hot conditions of the Flame Tank getting to him yet again, he said, "It is. It's time we reminded them why. I'll bring us around. Incinerate them; I want to hear them scream for mercy and for Kane's forgiveness."

"Yes, Captain." Ivan said, and Juhziz turned the tank and rolled towards the Zone Troopers, who, to his great satisfaction, reacted by pulling back, missing with their initial Rail Gun shots. The small female commando that accompanied them was shouting, pulling something off of her bandoleer and throwing it at the tanks…

It was a C4 charge, with, landing on a Scorpion behind them (Juhziz had to admire her strength, considering it was two tanks behind his own), it exploded, destroying the Tank utterly, the scrap from the sonic-enhanced explosion causing the Flame Tank to stutter forward… and the alarm went off.

"What is it, Brother Ivan?"

"There's damage to our main napalm line; switching to secondary. Stand by, Brother."

He kept driving forward as the Zone Troopers began to flee like little girls… and evidently, it was an order to do so, as the commando was yelling for them to get back as she tried to shoot the tanks with her puny carbine.

"I want her captured," he said, "the commando. I think she deserves the purifying flame. Quick and instant, for acknowledging her fear of the flame. A mercy."

A cold chuckle from Ivan answered, "I'll try to avoid her. Just don't run her over."

Suddenly, the last squad of Troopers, getting their act together at last, fired… and suddenly, he was engulfed in flame as his blood instantly evaporated, his flesh consumed in the fires of _Hell_ itself… and of Ivan, or the cramped tank… he knew no more, for his own pain was so great in the final fireball that was his Flame Tank.

XXXXX

The last Flame Tank obliterated, Ahsoka nodded to the Zone Troopers, who fired at the Scorpions gathering on the ledge; the rail gun rounds punching through the Scorpion's comparatively flimsy armor and blowing the cramp cockpits out.

The tanks gone, Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief… "Everyone alright?" she asked.

It turned out not everyone made it out alright; two Troopers of the twenty at the start had a misfire in their jump jets, which then exploded, leaving them wide open to be incinerated by the Flame Tank. She sighed, even though she had known for one-and-a-half decades that the biggest burden of command was knowing you were sending people to their painful deaths, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that it was her fault they died… _survivor's guilt_ has how she described it, especially since many of the situations she was able to get through much more easily because of her Force powers; her men didn't have that advantage… she hoped she never forgot that.

**XXXXXX**

**The Next Day**

**GDI Field Base Alpha-Beta-Tau**

**Egypt**

**Yellow Zone Y-2**

Rex slammed his hand against the transmitter again, trying to get the image clearer. Ahsoka was wiring it again, but Rex figured a slam might do the trick. The image, now clean once more, showed General Granger walking into his office. Rex was reporting back in from the successful mission.

"Good, you're alright. That facility you took out was a treasure trove of information. Unfortunately, the situation is worse than I could have feared. Nod's been creating a more powerful version of Liquid Tiberium weaponry. Dr. Gerould down in G-Tech is leading the analysis team."

A second screen appeared, Granger's screen being made smaller to fit it in. Dr. Gerould appeared, in a white lab coat in a generic Global-Tech Lab.

"Doctor," Granger asked, "What can you tell us?"

"Nod has found a new way to weaponize Liquid Tiberium in a much more devastating manner, this is a certainty. While raw data is still incomplete, this new method of creating a Liquid Tiberium explosion would have a yield of about… maybe ten times greater, than a _200 __**megaton**__ thermo nuke_. Now, with a proper catalyst, such a blast may also create a self-sustaining exothermic reaction."

"You're talking about a chain reaction?" Granger asked, fearfully.

"Precisely." Gerould said. "Any proximate Tiberium deposits, liquid or crystal… would be…" he glanced down, checking his notes, "instantly detonated."

"My God…" Granger said, shocked, "In a Yellow Zone… that could be thousands and thousands of acres! Thank you Doctor, keep me informed." Granger remotely cut the feed, taking full frame again for Rex.

"This changes everything…" Granger said, shell shocked, took a moment of pacing to get his thoughts in order. "Commander, seizing that Liquid Tiberium device before Nod deploys it… That _has_ to become our number one priority. Take out that Port in Alexandria before Nod can start exporting components from Egypt. When you've put those problems to bed, _then_ you can focus on those Nukes in Cairo. I'm dead serious on this Rex, I'm going to be arranging for a battalion of Mammoth Tanks to be deployed at Alexandria, use them, and roll over the Nod forces. If you can, get Rail Guns onto every Mammoth and Predator you can, those things will be key to taking out the large amounts of armored vehicles Nod will surely have. Rex; this battle cannot be lost, if Kane gets his bomb… God only knows what will happen."

XXXXXX

**The Next Day**

**GDI Assembly Area**

**Outside of Alexandria, Egypt**

**Yellow Zone Y-2**

Ahsoka looked in awe at the double row of ten Mammoth Tanks, five to a row. While certainly she had seen tougher armor, including an unoriginally named 'Super Tank' that was neigh impenetrable, these ten tanks, combined with all the GDI infantry, Riflemen, Missile Squads, Zone Troopers, Grenadiers, and what might as well be fifty Predator Tanks, and supporting _that_ was a dozen Orca Gunships, three whole squadrons of four each, well, the Grand Army of the Republic would have been hard pressed to keep it contained, even with support from their Y-Wings AND orbital bombardment from their Cruisers. And to add to that, more Mammoth Tanks would be landing via hover transport to reinforce the assault once GDI had secured the docks.

_And to think_, Ahsoka thought, _that GDI put this task force together with barely a day to assemble and transport over. _She looked over her shoulder; Rex was right behind her, looking over the Mammoth Tanks. Only two had Rail Guns, the squad leaders, the rest had 175 Millimeter guns, and all of them had dual rocket pods that had comparable fire to a Pitbull on Tiberium-infused Steroids, which translated into knocking a Nod Venom out of the skies with four individual rockets… or one firing cycle of _both_ rocket pods at the same time. And to make things even crazier, this was the _elite_ Mammoth Tank division, Apocalypse Squadron, with the kill ratings of 126:1 in one battle… albeit they didn't actually take any casualties, the one was just to put things into perspective.

XXXXXXX

They arrived at last at the small field base, consisting of a Barracks, Construction Yard, War Factory, Refinery, plenty of Power Plants, Guardian and Watchtower base defenses, three sets of Airfields to allow the Orcas to land and reload, a communications center, and an Armory. With all this, Rex was confident they'd be able to keep the attack force maintained while on the offensive against Nod.

"Commander," Kirce was personally sending him a message now. "ZOCOM is offering support for this operation in the form of Ceramic Armor and sonic rockets for your Orcas. However, Nod is using local Battleships to keep them from bringing it in. If you can take out those Battleships, not only will you get your Mammoth Tank reinforcements, but we can bring in the ZOCOM equipment. There's also an EMP control center, capture that as well to keep our Mammoths from being slowed down. Dare I say it, this mission might be _fun_."

"Right, thank you Lieutenant, I'm sure the men will love running over Nod with Mammoths." Rex said, and then climbed to the top of the Construction Yard. His EVA unit beeped, and he listened to the briefing while he climbed up.

"**Commander,"** EVA Reported, **"Nod has loading cranes that are already loading Stealth Transports for shipment. InOps has confirmed that Nod is behind schedule, and thus you have time to destroy those cranes."**

"**Commander, Nod has administration buildings in the area. Take them out to cripple their command in Alexandria. The buildings are in a main base to the northwest, on the other side of the city, which has access to the Nod Tunnel Network and is bringing in reinforcements."**

"**Commander, GDI asks that you take out the Battleships so we can land your reinforcements."**

"**Commander, the EMP control center in the area will shut down our mechanized forces if it's allowed to charge up. But if you can secure it, we can turn it against Nod forces."**

"**Commander, Tiberium Cleanup is important to show the locals that we are **_**not**_** the oppressors Nod makes us to be. Set up a secondary base at the Tiberium Field in the north with a refinery, so that ZOCOM can initiate cleaning operations once it's regrouped."**

Rex thought quickly on the new information, then reached the top, and began issuing orders.

"Alright men! Listen up! We're heading in hot. I want Carnivore Company," he gestured towards a group of Infantry and Predator Tanks, "to get into the city and dislodge Nod from the EMP control center, we can't have our Mammoths get shut down on us. I want the Orca squadrons to be ready to go in on those Battleships when I give the word. Mammoths, we're making a beeline for the docks with the intent of blowing up anything Nod, then we're going to advance onto the main base. Carnivore Company, once the Mammoths begin their attack on the base, hit it hard!"

Rex got a number of affirmatives, then he began to issue more precise orders on formation, deployment, and similar. Stevenson, his ConYard operator, was ready to initiate secondary base construction once Rex cleared the docks of Nod forces. He told Stevenson to get a GDI Field-Tech lab up ASAP so that they could get Mammoth Tanks their Rail Guns using the Tiberium they refined with their Harvesters.

Ahsoka was going to go with Carnivore Company, while Rex hit the docks with everything the Mammoths had.

The word was given, and with a long-range bombardment on the Nod docks and base by the GDI Mediterranean Fleet's Battleships and Orca Bombers from the _GDS Wolverine_, the Battle for Alexandria began.

XXXXXXXX

Ahsoka lit her lightsaber and rushed into the first Nod occupied building in Alexandria. Because of civilians, GDI grenadiers had to hold back, leaving building cleanup to Ahsoka, who could create a distraction to allow Riflemen to get inside and start cleaning stuff up.

Ahsoka rushed in, and cut down the Militants with ease, her lightsaber keeping Nod bullets from reaching her, though now since she was charging and not simply blocking them, the bullets' liquid metal spray started to singe her armor and face.

She cut down the Nod forces whom tried to stop her and, feeling the main Nod squad that was in the building, leapt up the stairs and kicked the door down.

"PUT YOUR BLADE DOWN OR WE SHOOT!" shouted the lead Militant, whose men were holding guns to a pair of _civilians_, husband and wife. She skidding to a halt, staring at the Nod soldiers and holding her lightsaber in a ready position, locking eyes with the militants. They flipped the safeties off… Ahsoka knew they were not bluffing… but something was wrong… she extended her awareness, and, sensing something wrong in the family's reaction, particularly toward the Nod soldiers, she decided to play along with Nod's game, noting something of a gunmetal grey in the pockets of the wife.

Deactivating her lightsaber, Ahsoka clipped her lightsaber to her belt, and, using the movement to conceal another; she pressed a button on her wrist, and put her hands up.

"Good," The Militant said evilly, then aimed at Ahsoka's head, the family of 'civilians' pulling out hand guns and aiming at her as well, their civilian clothing coming off to reveal Nod's so-called 'armor' that Militants wore. "Now you die, Fascist bitch!"

But at that moment, a GDI grenade soared in and blew them to pieces, Ahsoka, leaping out of the room with a backward summersault, felt the heat of the explosion pass over her, but it did not leave the room. While four GDI grenades would clear a standard sized apartment building, one was enough to clean a room like that without frying the entire building... though it did leave a large smoking hole where the window sill used to be, exposing wall studs.

Ahsoka had called for a GDI grenade to be thrown in. Ahsoka had sensed the 'captive's' malice directed not at their captors, which was standard for hostages, but towards GDI in general, in a way similar to most Militants. Also, it didn't help Nod that the handguns their 'captives' were carrying we poorly concealed that it would have been a miracle that they'd of been missed by anyone.

She walked back into the apartment… everyone was dead from the grenade… a bullet ricocheted of the wall, and she whirled around, thinking it was a team of militants bursting in, but no… it was the 'husband' from the ploy. Ahsoka pulled the gun from the man with the Force, sending the old pistol flying into the wall.

"Damn you," he gurgled out, and Ahsoka realized his torso had been shredded by the high-explosive grenade, "I hope… you hang from a tree… you… you…" and with that, his head lolled back, revealing a nasty opening in his throat that bled.

Ahsoka couldn't help but pity them, she could sense their suffering as they died… she sighed, hating the unnecessary loss of life, happening because Kane just couldn't stop attacking GDI and leading the world to more world wars…

Nod didn't try another stunt like that, and as GDI Riflemen and Zone Troopers cleaned the buildings out, an engineering team hurried to the EMP center, and redirected control of the EMP center to GDI.

Ahsoka, who was now standing out in the city streets, looked at the Nod base, and spotted a battalion of Scorpion Tanks, armed with Spitfire Lasers and armored with the new Nod Dozer Blades, coming out to engage the GDI forces. These upgraded Scorpions, she knew, while not equal to a Predator, could still heavily damage one in a one-on-one fight.

"Get those Foxholes up!" Ahsoka shouted the Riflemen, igniting her lightsaber. Missiles from GDI's soldiers soared over her, as she bounced Spitfire Lasers back at the Nod tanks. The GDI Predator tanks opened up on the Nod tanks, and a tank battle began.

GDI Foxholes went up, and GDI's infantry took cover. More Nod tanks were joining in… Flame Tanks. Directing the infantry fire to the Flame Tanks before they could get in range and cook the GDI soldiers out of their entrenchments, Ahsoka deflected more lasers.

GDI Tanks began taking damage, several Predators already destroyed. But Nod was taking thrice the casualties thanks to their tanks being shut down by the EMP Control Center's blasts, but still, the numbers were now growing. Nod's tunnel network must have been in overtime, for more Scorpion Tanks came driving out of the base.

"Orca Air support, need help at the city, ASAP! Targets at Delta-Sierra-Echo!"

"Copy, bombers on their way." A trio of Orcas answered from the _GDS Wolverine_. Flying in, they dropped a payload of easily eight 1,000-pound bombs onto a concentration of Scorpion Tanks, blasting them sky high and obliterating anything caught in the blast. Rex had already called the Gunships to level the Nod Battleships, which were desperately trying to fire back at the GDI fleet.

Ahsoka screamed as an explosion, 'courtesy' of an exploding rocket launched by an unknown source, blew her away like a rag doll, slamming her into a building, then she fell a story and onto a pile of rubble.

Before she lost consciousness, she deactivated her lightsaber, and spotted Nod Stealth Tanks, extremely light hovercraft tanks armed with dual rocket pods of high power, blowing apart surprised Predator tank crews and their tanks. She reached desperately for her wrist, trying to type in a call in air support and let Rex know how screwed the situation was, but she lost consciousness, her fingers a mere inch away.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Gunner, target at 0600! Fire!" Rex said, riding inside the lead Mammoth, which, like all tanks, hot, unsanitary, though larger then most tanks. He looked at the tactical screen. It wasn't good. While Stevenson had managed to get a GDI Tech Center up at the base, the city combat was going badly. New Mammoth Tank crews had been flown in and Mammoths being assembled from the refined Tiberium that the base had gathered from the Tiberium field it was built next to, and Rail Guns being installed in every tank by modified GDI Hammerheads, the battle wasn't going well in the city.

Rex was having much better luck. His tanks had blown apart the first crane and were moving onto the second one, blasting all Nod forces in their way.

"Squad two, get to the city, ASAP."

"Moving out, Commander," responded the leader of the second half of Apocalypse squadron, who then had her tanks move towards the city.

"Commander!" came the voice of Zone Trooper Squad Scipio-Three's leader, "Lieutenant Tano is out of action, we think she's unconscious, but Nod's moving up too much armor, we need Orcas to blow those things apart, and Pitbulls to reveal Nod's stealth tanks!"

The second Crane came under fire from the Mammoths while Orcas from the ground base flew in for another shot at the Nod battleship.

"Orca Gunships, redirect to the city, it's going hellish there. _GDS Wolverine_, I'm requesting that you offer air support to the city combat if you can spare it." Rex said, the fear in his voice not quite concealed. Though few could call him being biased in the situation, given that the EMP control center in the city could stop the Mammoth Tanks in their tracks and spell endex for the entire operation.

Orca Bombers from the _GDS Wolverine_ flew over the tanks, and unleashed a withering torrent of bombs onto the Nod tanks advancing into the city. Civilians were running away from the battlefield, and Rex wished them every bit of luck in getting clear, as well as sending orders to his base to help them get to shelter if they came in their direction. One of the Orcas was shot down by the Nod Stealth Tanks, and crashed into Rex's Mammoth Tank. The tank took little damage from the hit, for its advanced Hexagonal Armor was hard to penetrate, but it did shake the crew and weakened the armor on the right flank. Fortunately, as it was a command tank, there was an interior repair drone, a smaller, weaker one than those at the War Factories, but it could shore up the tank until it could get proper repairs. The small, spiderlike robot moved over and began to apply its repair torch to the dent. Rex shivered... they looked very unsettling.

The tanks had managed to demolish the second crane, as well as the second battleship. Nod was now unable to export any components of the Liquid Tiberium Bomb… but the battle wasn't over yet.

"_GDS Wolverine_ to Commander Rex, we are sending in your reinforcements. ZOCOM is also sending in a squad of Ox transports with their advanced sonic equipment. Maybe that'll help with the city combat, ZOCOM's managed to make it attack Tiberium made things only, and Nod uses plenty of Tib."

"Roger that Admiral." Rex responded, "Tanks, let's punch a hole into the base and draw the fire away from our boys in the city!"

Mammoth Tanks, landing in twos by GDI Hover Transport, rolled into the city or at the Nod base, demolishing all Nod forces in their path… including those redirecting from the city to stop the attack on the main base.

Rex's tanks blew the walls guarding the Nod base down, and they began blowing apart the Nod base piecemeal. Hands of Nod, War Factories, power plants, Operations Centers, Secret Shrines, a construction yard, and base defenses alike fell to the pounding of the GDI forces.

"All units, target the main admin building, at 1200!" Rex shouted to his gunner and the other tanks.

The Mammoth Tanks shifted their aim, and started blowing the daylights out of the Nod administration, which fell apart under the pounding of Rail Guns, 175 millimeter shells, and rockets.

The Nod forces in retreat, Rex popped the hatch of his tank open, and leapt out; observing the carnage GDI had sowed in the base. Nothing was left standing, the entire base on fire in some degree. There were dead bodies all across, most of them Nod… some were reduced to paste from being ran over by the Mammoths, others were dead from machine gun fire… and Rex saw that many others had simply been blown into limbs and said limbs were sent flying to all four corners of the base and beyond… it was a bloody sight… but war, Rex knew, was always bloody, even if the weapons of choice cauterized wounds on impact.

"**Commander,"** EVA reported,** "Mission Accomplished. Recovery operations initiated, Tiberium Cleanup orders sent." **

Rex ran towards the city. While certainly it was bad form for an officer, the chatter he heard indicated that GDI soldiers were buried under rubble. He activated his HUD display to show life signs, and, working with GDI soldiers there, began digging through the rubble for trapped soldiers. Some were simply stuck underneath rubble, but others had lost limbs, and some were missing parts of their torso or legs, but not having them wholly blown off…

When he couldn't find Ahsoka, he knew it.

GDI had won.

But Rex had lost.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Undisclosed Location**

**24 hours later**

Ahsoka didn't know when or where she had regained consciousness, but she was aware she was awake, and not in Alexandria anymore.

A Nod Confessor, gun loaded, stood in front of her. It dawned on Ahsoka then that she was chained to a wall, unable to move, her arms and legs stretched out. She also realized she was no longer in GDI Commando armor, and was, in fact, down to her undergarments. _And to think,_ Ahsoka thought, _that I once complained about having to wear full clothes._ She recalled fondly a moment, now seeming to be distant and childish almost, of her argument with one of the Republic's captains, Pellaeon, over what she'd be wearing when on his ship…

Two more Confessors walked in, flanking a man. He wore a hood and full robes. He let the robes drop, revealing himself for who he was. Ahsoka hardened her expression, mustering every ounce of defiance she could.

"Behold," said the Confessor guarding Ahsoka, "the Messiah: Kane!"

_Messiah huh? So what, does that mean he bleeds holy white when I gut him?_ Ahsoka thought brutally.

Kane smiled, putting his fingertips together enigmatically and looking her over.

"I must admit, I am… disappointed." Kane said. He turned to the Confessors and said, "Leave us."

The three Confessors bowed, and left with haste.

"So. You are the 'mutant' GDI Commando I've heard so much about. You don't look like the others; that is for sure." Kane said, pacing with a knowing look in his eye. "You obviously know of the Liquid Tiberium bomb, otherwise you wouldn't have been part of that foolish GDI attack on Alexandria! Why do you fight the inevitable? GDI only tolerates you because you're _useful_, because you're 'father' is _useful_, but once the war ends, if GDI, in an impossible twist of fate, eradicates Tiberium entirely, or controls it so much that there are no more 'Zones', where will you be? You'll be shunned and put to the streets. A _freak_ of nature, they'll call you. An **abomination** you shall become known as, and that's if they don't both putting a _bullet_ through your head or _hang you from a tree._"

Ahsoka stared defiantly into Kane's eyes. Kane pulled something off of his belt, a silver tube, and pressed a button. Ahsoka's lightsaber sprang to life, the blade a mere inch away from impaling her throat.

"You, are not of this world, nor are you of The Visitors, who have yet to arrive." Kane said, accusingly. "I know your origins. You came into this world an accident born of the Chronosphere, a toy that GDI discarded… but with Tiberium, if you only show loyalty and help fight the Fascism that is _GDI,_ you, and even your; 'father'; Rex, will be able to return… home. I am surprised you choose to ally with GDI, for they abandoned many people who suffered, and you certainly aren't one who'd let people suffer out of hand."

"If you think…" Ahsoka spat out defiantly, "That the acts of a few is the acts of many… than you're more deluded than we thought."

Kane laughed. "Yes, the heroism of GDI's common soldiers." He paused a moment, then continued. "I admit, I admire the GDI soldiers who joined to protect their families and help humankind, even if it is in the absolutely wrong way. But they still serve corrupt, greedy, politicians, and thus must die, lest they harm humanity further."

"Further than Tiberium already has?" Ahsoka responded hotly, spitting at Kane, who simply slid out of the way without a care, or so it seemed to her.

Kane chuckled. "My dear, the harm done was by the way GDI approached Tiberium, trying to contain it and remove it instead of embracing it."

"I'm not betraying them, so don't even try."

"Why would I? I'm simply trying to open your eyes a bit." Kane said, projecting a false innocence with an unbelievable ease.

But Ahsoka couldn't deny it… GDI had in the most abandoned Yellow Zones that were deemed by some as 'irreclaimable' or 'low priority'. While certainly this was true for politicians like Redmond Boyle; other leaders, such as General Granger or Mitchell, had attempted to provide relief efforts to all Yellow Zones… with limited success due to a lack of interest by some of the higher echelons of GDI.

_No, don't think that, that's what he wants, to make you start doubting what you've done. GDI isn't as bad as he portrays them, certainly, they have corruption, but where isn't there any? It's the lesser to two evils…_she stopped her line of thought, worried how Kane was already undermining her mindset…

"I'm not joining you Kane, and you can shove your head up the business end of an Ion Cannon as far as I care." Ahsoka harshly shouted at him.

"My dear," Kane responded gently, grinning evilly, "I already have, and lived, for _you can't kill the Messiah!_"

"But I can try." Ahsoka responded, and then used the Force to shove him into the door, sending Kane flying into it with surprising force. Something dawned on her then…

_I can't resist interrogation forever… but I can deny him that information… I just hope Rex can cope._

_Never take a prisoner, and never become one_, a common military proverb back in the Republic, particularly intelligence.

Kane leapt back on his feet, unaffected. "I'll take that as a no."

"Pretty much." Ahsoka responded, noting that Kane had clipped her lightsaber to his belt…

_Well_, Ahsoka thought, _I was prepared before, even though it was different circumstances, and well, I'm prepared again_. Using the Force, she pulled her lightsaber off of the belt, and sent it rushing towards her, blade ignited and pointed at her.

But before it made even a foot closer to her, Kane grabbed it, and pressed a button on his wrist, sending a brief, but distracting, electrical shock through Ahoska's body, causing her to loose concentration. Kane deactivated the lightsaber and taking the Tiberium crystal out of it, completely unfazed by the radiation any human would experience from such close contact.

"Brave of you, Ahsoka. Your dedication to your comrades is admirable, I will give you that. But I'm afraid that heroic self-sacrifice, at least today, is going to have to wait." Kane responded, conveying what Ahsoka could only guess was a facade of admiration or respect.

"BROTHER MARCION!" Kane shouted suddenly.

The door opened, and a man walked in, clad in the armor of the Black Hand's Grand Confessor, the leader of the Nod subdivision known as the Black Hand.

"Yes, Kane?" Marcion asked humbly.

"This one knows information about GDI's military, and the Steel Talons technology, but that is not what concerns me. It is her history, and the history of her Commander, the one who foiled us in Washington DC and in Egypt. I want to know every detail you can find. _Interrogate_ her." Kane ordered, then left.

Marcion walked to the wall and opened a control panel, and pressed a number of buttons.

Ahsoka screamed as electricity coursed through her body.

_I don't care if it's the last thing I do…_ Ahsoka thought.

_I'm not going to talk._

**XXXXXXXXX**

**The Next Day, Evening**

**Just outside of Nod Nuclear Launch Facility**

**One Kilometer north of Cairo**

**Yellow Zone Y-2**

"Commander, I see you have come for my nuclear weapons." Kane said, via video transmission, to Rex, who was in the private communications room in an MCV. "I don't blame you, they're quite powerful. However, you are really beginning to _vex_ me, and I say that to few people of _this_ world."

"You're times at an end Kane, I'm coming for you, and this time, you're not getting away." Rex responded.

"Oh really, Commander?" Kane asked, and the camera panned to Ahsoka, looking battered and weary. "Is it worth her life, destroying a couple missiles?"

Rex paused, staring, dumbfounded at what he was seeing.

"Shocked, Commander?" Kane asked. "You shouldn't be. After all, she's so brave, resisting all that the Black Hand has thrown at her in here. Of course, they've stopped just short of ending it…"

Another surge of electricity was fired, causing Ahsoka to scream in pain, Rex swore he saw the outlines of her skeleton in the electric blasts…

"Is it worth killing her, Rex? Know that if you come after me, I _will_ kill her, and it will be long, slow… and painful." Kane then nodded to the Confessor torturing her, who stopped. "Why don't we ask her what she thinks?"

The cameraman with Kane must have moved closer given the bumping in the screen.

"Well, Ahsoka?" Kane asked.

"Take him down, Rex," Ahsoka said, weakly, but putting up defiance, even with her body charred with long black streaks from the torture, skin that was wholly burnt. "I'll be fi" she was cut off by another jolt of electricity.

"So bold… so brave." Kane said, the camera turning back to him, "It's a shame that such bravery merits so much pain. You may want to know, she tried to end it herself, before I had even started, to stop you from having you suffer, from watching her suffer. Or perhaps to protect you. Regardless, her bravery will be remembered, I suspect." Kane nodded to the cameraman, and the transmission cut.

Rex slammed his fist into the desk, cursing his own stupidity. He had counted on Nod being far more concerned about the docks then they were the city, and that had landed a lot of his men dead and Ahsoka captured. If Rex ever got back to the Republic, he was going to have a hard time explaining to Skywalker how he had gotten Ahsoka killed by a barely-planet wide, but powerful, bunch of fanatics… assuming that by the time Rex did get back, if he did, Skywalker was still alive. _The General will be,_ Rex decided, _He's a survivor, and he's survived a lot. Takes more then an army of clankers to take him out…_

Stevenson knocked on the door, and said, "Commander, General Granger is hailing you."

Rex nodded, glad for something to distract him from his thoughts, and went into the main communication room. Granger appeared in the main command screen, and a second was opened with Kirce.

"Commander," Granger said, "InOps has confirmed Kane is at the Cairo missile facility. Hit it hard, fast, destroy the launch facility, and don't let Kane get away. Killing him won't be enough; you have to capture him so we can make sure he stays dead this time, even if we have to burn him alive and space his carcass to the sun."

"We've also confirmed," Kirce added, "That this is where Nod launched the missile that destroyed the Philadelphia. MAKE THEM PAY FOR ALL THOSE THEY KILLED ON THE _PHILADEPLHIA_!"

Rex nodded, swallowing hard.

Rex caught himself before falling as the MCV stopped suddenly and deployed, and began slapping a field base together with materials brought. The forces from Alexandria, reinforced with the tech ZOCOM had sent Rex, were amassed outside of the Nod base.

General Mitchell from the Steel Talons appeared on the communications screen,

"Commander, GDI Juggernauts are coming to your position to give you long-range support and suppressive fire against Nod's base. The Titians are out of range and won't make it in time, but I might be able to get a few Wolverines over." He turned to Granger, "Bad news General, one of my Commanders got thoroughly destroyed in Brazil; Kane got some sort of transport out. I'm tracing it now and positioning some Slingshots to take it out near Slovenia."

"Kane's here," Rex said, cutting in, "so I'm going to hit it hard and fast. Now, if you'll excuse me, Generals," Rex said, concealing his anger as best he could, "I got a 'date' with Kane…"

Rex looked at the map. Nod had fully fortified the position… but there was a weakness. A gap was uncovered by anti-air enough that Zone Troopers or any other soldiers with Jump Jets could leapt over and cause havoc…

Rex's main forces could easily distract Nod while a Zone Trooper team jump jetted into the base.

"Alright," Rex said, "I want the main armor to pound Nod's front gates with shelling, and draw Nod's attention. All Zone Troopers are to report to point November-Six. When I give the word, the main armor division is to pound through the Nod base directly."

Rex suited up, grabbing a Jump Jetpack and bringing plenty of C4, and then went to join the Zone Troopers.

The GDI armor was beginning its shelling; the Juggernauts also arrived, and were bombarding the Nod base with general suppression fire. Rex arrived to the Zone Troopers and filled them in.

"Armor battalion, stand by to advance!" Rex ordered, and GDI's Mammoth Tanks rolled in a bit more, getting some more range on the defenses. Rex was glad that it didn't include an Obelisk of Light…

"Alright Troopers, follow me!" Rex Jump Jetted over the cliff wall, landing. Zone Troopers followed him over, and they began to unleash hell with their Rail Guns, demolishing Nod structures.

Moving quickly, taking out Militants and tanks alike that tried to stop them, the GDI Zone Troopers rushed in, blasting their foes with their rail guns and obliterating the enemy.

Rex rolled out of the way of an Avatar's laser, and then responded by jump jetting over, grappling onto the legs, setting a C4 charge, and jump jetting away, the exploding C4 causing the Avatar to collapse. Most GDI soldiers might have difficulty aiming their Rail Guns, and commandos often spent a whole month mastering their rail carbines, but Rex was a Clone Trooper, bred for war, and they wielded weapons that took years to master normally as their everyday walk in the park. Switching to his dual pistols as Nod militants swarmed out, he began to go guns akimbo, unleashing a torrential (company) of blaster bolts into the militants, one shot far more then enough to kill an enemy militiaman.

Rex ordered his men forward. Flame Tanks moved in, but Zone Trooper Rail Guns proved to be too much for the tank's armor.

Rex finally reached the power to the Nuclear Launch facility… and a new nuke was being readied to fire. Rex slapped C4 onto every one of the modular power plants he could, and once clear, detonated the C4.

"All units, advance into the base!" Rex ordered, with the power cut, the Nod base was now vulnerable to assault… from the front, Mammoth Tanks rolled into the base, demolishing every Nod building in sight, supported by Pitbulls, infantry, APCs, Predators, while Orca squadrons made flybys, bombing the enemy and returning to rearm, rinsing, and repeating.

The nuclear missile shut down, and Rex took the Zone Troopers up to the facility, and demolished it with a few C4 charges.

Rex's HUD blinked, and to the side, Kane was sending him live video feed. It looked like he was in some sort of aircraft. As Rex looked into the sky he saw a high-speed object speeding away, now speeding toward the sunset.

"You may have destroyed this nuclear facility, but you've lost more than you've ever THOUGHT, Commander. You will pay for this!" Kane said angrily, shaking his fist, then he calmed down, adopting a more... serene, appearance. But in a hauntingly evil way.

"Still, I suppose a reward is in order for your victory." Kane continued, "You'll find your; 'daughter' in a tunnel under the launch facility. I would hurry, the Confessor I left her with is quite angry that you've ruined us here."

The video feed cut to a single Nod Confessor, a common one, having too much fun with electrocuting Ahsoka scientifically.

Anger grew to a point where it was uncontainable. Rex reloaded, and rushed into the nearest Nod tunnel entrance despite the shouts of the Zone Troopers behind him, he began using his Rail Gun DC and dual pistols to kill anything Nod that got in his way, ignoring several gunshot wounds that his armor mostly caught, but drew blood. _A trip to the medbay will be worth getting Ahsoka back… hell, why do I even hesitate over these wounds?_

He ducked as a pair of Militants shot rockets at him… inside the tunnels, oddly enough. The rockets impacted the heavy-duty wall with little damage to them. Rex paid the two back with headshots.

Four minutes of shooting and many dead militants later, Rex kicked a door down… but all he saw was the Confessor.

"Too late, _Clone_," The Confessor shouted, "She's been taken away."

Rex shot him in the head out of reflex, instinct. Blind animal rage.

_That damned coward is going to pay for this… when I get my hands on Kane, he's going to not only be dead, but he's gonna be burning for eternity if I have anything to say about it! _Rex thought savagely, wishing he could snap Kane's neck; see the life leave Kane's eyes, watch Kane slump over and loose what he had stolen from so many.

Then Rex remembered what had happened once before, when he thought Ahsoka had died, buried under tons of rubble. Rex still couldn't figure out how she had survived, even if the explanation of taking cover in a Mammoth-tank-on-steroids-to-the-nth-degree was the truth. He collapsed to the floor, his helmet touching the metal floor, and began to cry. It was odd for Rex because he had rarely cried at all for any long amount of time, so the experience was… harsh, on him, to put it mildly.

XXXXXXXX

**One Week Later**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

General Granger sighed, looked at the video feed of Rex's bunk. He was still there. Ever since he got back from Africa, although his forces had won and Nod was removed entirely from North Africa, and went to celebrate when they were clear, Rex had been quiet, alone, and Granger suspected, crying in the inside so hard that it was amazing Rex hadn't had a psychotic breakdown, he even bet Rex cried when the camera's were off. Boyle had, insensitively, tried to congratulate him, and reassure Rex that Ahsoka's 'sacrifice' would be remembered, but if any true sensitivity or sorrow was within Boyle's words, it was lost on Rex. He had been… silent, the last week, only coming out to eat, and even then; he ate little and left the moment he finished.

The war had gone on; ZOCOM was assaulting Temple Prime and Mitchell's cut-off Steel Talons in Slovenia made good on their promise to gun down Kane's transport; but reports of a Nod commander _personally_ going in and retaking the bomb, destroying all the cut-off Talons and the ZOCOM main force with the help of said Nod commander/commando's soldiers sent a chill through his spine… especially considering which ZOCOM unit was there.

Rex's bunk was only a small window on Granger's combat screen; the news was playing in the main window while images from other theatres were in others. Granger was only half watching it, thinking about recent events and how to get as many of GDI's soldiers through the next week as possible.

William Frank was reporting on the reports W3N had gained on the Egypt campaign.

"While the rumors of Nod using WMD's has paralyzed an already reeling population, a series of daring GDI raids has successfully destroyed this threat, forcing Nod forces to flee the entire African continent. Reports now come in of Nod forces converging on Sarajevo, where reports say that Kane has built a new Nod temple, beneath the ruins of the old Temple, destroyed by the Ion Cannon back in the First Tiberium War. We now go to a press conference with GDI acting-director Redmond Boyle."

Cutting to the press conference, Boyle answered the obvious question first:

"I am sorry, but I have no reliable Intel on the new Nod temple in Sarajevo at this time."

"That's what you said about the Casabad lab, but clearly, someone had that Intel!" responded a reporter.

"Evidently." Boyle responded, "But one simple communication error is not something to begin a controversy over, the situation, has been _rectified_, I assure you!"

Boyle then picked another reporter, and each one there was eager to get a question in.

"Does that mean you are now making all the strategic military decisions?" asked a reporter.

Almost laughing, Boyle responded, "Now that's what I call _jumping to conclusions!_ Look, will I be deciding how many tanks to deploy? What kind of _missiles _to fire? What color _camouflage _to wear? Of course not! But I will be involved in all the _**important**_ decisions from this point forward. Believe me; Nod will reap what it sowed!" Boyle was cut off by a Nod hacking.

Kane had made another broadcast. Kane, walking in what had to be the new Temple Prime, began to talk.

"Mr. Boyle is correct about one thing. Nod _will_ reap what it has sowed. The seeds of GDI's destruction. _Righteousness_ has only _**ONE **_allegiance, and that is to the _oppressed!_ Our sacred Brotherhood and inheritors of this **glorious **_**Tiberium**_ world! Look to the skies, my children," Kane opened a fence door, and continued on, talking, "A new dawn approaches in the East. Ascension awaits the _Faithful_."

He continued, then the camera panned to something had made Granger's heart sink a foot or two.

Ahsoka was chained up in Nod's Temple Prime.

"For the unfaithful and those who try to stop the Ascension of humanity… Even those whom have been affected by the glorious Tiberium fields of this world and gained many new abilities and benefited from it…"

A Nod Confessor moved in and stabbed Ahsoka's thigh, drawing blood with a Tiberium-made spear, then sliced her along her chest, slowly and carefully, only drawing blood, but not in a manner that could potentially be fatal. The blade laced just under her stomach, and when the spear finally left, Granger could see how near death Ahsoka was. The Confessor then moved menacingly to get a whip coated in an off-green substance… and as the first strike fell, Ahsoka, despite her best efforts, let a small scream loose, as the Confessor readied the second lash, the camera returned to Kane.

"The pain that is just for those who dare stand in the way of Evolution. However, for the repenting…"

The camera switched to who Granger recognized as one of the Steel Talon's newer officers… now donned in a Nod uniform.

"A chance to fight for righteousness, and redeem themselves. Take off your armor, Brother Ironside, show us the scars and signs of your repentance after leaving GDI at Brazil, at the Guns of the Amazon..."

Ironside did indeed show, revealing the scars of whips… whips coated with what must have been a specialized Tiberium formula designed to leave what Granger knew had to be painful marks… likely permanently with a sensation of burning now.

"Even those who prospered under the tyranny that is GDI are leaving the sinking ship that is GDI. GDI foolishly tried to _REMOVE_ Tiberium from Africa…"

Combat reconnaissance videos showing GDI's latest, most powerful weapon in its war against Tiberium, the MARV (Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle), being blown apart, and not only that, but two more MARVs, and many ZOCOM soldiers.

"And they were destroyed." It now switched to a massive walker, painted in the black of death, walking on four legs placed under a massive, almost human-like chassis, and armed to the teeth with brutally dangerous weapons, flame throwers, particle cannons, and worse, something that looked to Granger like a Tiberium death spray… and even more horrifying was it's brain-like dome on top, which unleashed a red pulse… and _GDI soldiers_ started_**shooting each other**_ afterwards.

"Children of Nod, I beseech you, throw down the shackles of GDI, show the world that their fascism is at an _end!_"

The interruption cut, and returned to Boyle, who had, obviously, at the press conference, seen it.

Granger sighed, falling back into his chair, a hand on his forehead. GDI was winning so well on many fronts now… but spectacularly failing on others… one where Nod was dead serious about winning, almost.

Sighing, Granger got back to work. He wondered if Havoc would be up for a Commando operation to officially cash in several favors owed…

"Sandra," he said.

"Yes sir?"

"Can you ask Havoc to come to by tonight? I have a proposal for him."

She gave him a wary look, but nodded, "Yes sir." And left. Granger sighed, smiling, _She's a good girl; almost reminds me of Brink… _he stopped, memories coming back. He sighed, turning the news off and shifting his focus to the battle brewing in Florida, but the thoughts of how he was going to convince Havoc kept returning during the lulls in the fighting, as the field officers gained the advantage and even secured Miami…

Granger owed Rex for what he had done. And while he wouldn't be able to pay the debt himself, he could at least get someone who could help out, and what's more, someone outside the military. Havoc's 'adventures', with the Military Police had earned him the ire of GDI high command, to the point where he was only tolerated for his skills. Fortunately, Havoc was a retired war veteran, and Granger could ask for his help without jeopardizing mission security or using soldiers who were desperately needed elsewhere for this under-the-table operation.

_**XXXXXXX**_

_**Author's Notes: REVISED EDIT:**_** Again, the main changes in the revised edit was more flesh to the events and trying to give a bit more of a realistic feel. Suppose hindsight and learning a bit more on how actual fighting works helps.**

**Also, to help set up timeline, I'm adding quotes from the Nod campaign in addition to the normal 'pre-chapter snippet'… after all, some of those lines are pretty badass.**


	5. Chapter 5: Cry Havoc

_"__General Jack Granger__, we regret to inform you that we have reasonable suspicion that your daughter, __Lieutenant Sarah D. Granger__, passed away during a combat mission in __Sarajevo.__ We offer you our condolences on your loss."_

- GDI Copy-Paste Fill-in-the-Blank Next-of-Kin letter to General Jack Granger

_Commander! I have no idea what the hell is going on but it sure smells like _Kilian_ to me! Probably one of her little power plays… Guess what. She's in for a rude awakening, 'cause with my brains and your bombs, we're gonna put her little plan six feet under._

- Nod Agent Ajay to the to-be-known Legendary Insurgent after 'Kilian's' forces begin their attack on Temple Prime

**Chapter 5: Cry Havoc**

**Outside of Temple Prime**

**Sarajevo**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

Retired-Colonel Nick "Havoc" Parker, donned in full GDI Commando Armor, sans helmet, with a massive bandoleer carrying enough ammo to level an army of Militants, looked at the carnage of what was once a GDI field base for the siege of Temple Prime, Nod's world headquarters. The carnage was enough to make a lesser man faint, but not Havoc. He'd seen worse, when weapons were far bloodier then they were now due to the tendency for GD-2 rounds to cauterize wounds. Weapons in the First Tiberium War didn't (usually). He began to look for survivors of the Nod counter attack, given that a little help never hurt… and since he was there, and the fact that in these days, GDI needed every soldier it could get.

In the past two days he had been in transit, a Nod commander had blown past large numbers of GDI forces, and apparently had broken the Siege of Temple Prime if the battle there was any indication. As he explored, he heard yet more fighting; he assumed it was GDI survivors mounting a last-ditch assault… while he'd done many, these soldiers were not him… the thought of soldiers making a do-or-die assault on a Nod instillation like Temple Prime struck a cord in him…

_Damned bureaucratic doves._ Havoc thought, _If we had the Mammoth Mark II, this never would of happened and those soldiers would now be blasting their way through the base in victory, not in a Hollywood last charge…_

He found a team of ZOCOM Zone Raiders… Dead ones. _Poor ladies, looks like they lived long enough to die- Wait… that's Granger's team!_ Havoc realized suddenly.

Activating his helmet's bioscan, he looked around the wreckage. He found a living person, faint, but there, buried under the rubble of the Armory. He moved over, and spotted a hand sticking out from the rubble.

Moving a large piece with difficulty, Havoc looked, and saw that it was Sarah Granger herself, just barely alive, her armor barely having held.

"Havoc?" she asked, "That you?"

"Sure damn well is. How'd you survive that?"

"Armor… does wonders…" she responded, weakly. "Power Packs… have… decent medical aid… kept me… alive… barely."

Havoc nodded as he started clearing the rest of the rubble. The Zone Troopers and Zone Raider armor could be modified with Power Packs and improved scanners, the former improving the suit in general and even granting some medical aid, the latter helping them detect hidden Nod forces and granting them expanded radar abilities, even within Ion Storms; a key piece for anyone looking to survive any Red Zone action.

Pulling a hefty piece of wreckage off of her legs, Havoc realized how strong Zone Trooper/Raider armor could be as Sarah began to move again, slowly at first, but faster as time went on.

"Thanks for the help," She said to him, recovering with time thanks to the Power Pack, "So, did you get sent here just to check on the base?"

"Nope," Havoc responded, "Granger called in a favor I owed him. Rex's in a bad state after Nod captured Ahsoka, and apparently, Kane's having too much fun with her. Also, given her Tib mutations, Granger's reckoning Kane might use her to get humans to survive Tiberium exposure, and since he's not sending a strike force after this mess, he called me."

"Well, there's good news… Nod's in civil war it seems."

"Really? Some of 'em finally realized what a bitch Kane is and how bad Tib is?"

"Not sure, might just be an internal power struggle. All I know is that shortly after we got carpet bombed, the same group who carpet bombed us turned on Kane's forces and attacked Temple Prime, if the sound is any indication."

"You able to fight?"

"Just need to get my grenade launcher."

While she did that, Havoc looked around for extra ammo for his gun, and, in case he ran into Nod's large arsenal of cheaply made tanks, he shouldered with ease a GDI missile launcher and attached extra grenades to his belt.

_I ain't too old for this yet Noddies… come and get me._ He thought; glad that he might even get a crack at Kane. If he did, that'd just be too sweet.

Advancing quietly across the blasted landscape, the two GDI soldiers crept ahead. Climbing onto the cliff overlooking Temple Prime, they looked at the battle.

Nod and Rogue Nod forces were clashing outside of the temple, the Nod loyalists having an edge, but the battle was quite fluid, the battle lines changing easily within seconds, the carnage leaving ruins of the outer walls. A massive walker, which Havoc recognized from Kane's broadcast as a 'Redeemer', was blowing the daylights out of anything that got in the way, stomping upon any tanks and igniting infantry with a flamethrower, and then firing its powerful cannons at further away tank brigades rolling down the flanks.

"We'll have to move quickly," Sarah said, "Before they can resolidify the lines."

"Let's go then." Parker said, leaping over and using his Jump Jets to slow his descent, Sarah right behind him.

They crept into the Nod base, hiding in the shadows. Fortunately, all the Nod forces were busy fighting, which kept them covered.

Slipping into the Nod science building, and shooting a couple Militants and a Black Hand Disciple who decided to get in the way, and hacking into a terminal they found out Ahsoka's location: In a underground lab under the Tiberium Chemical Plant.

"Look at this, it says: _'Experiments must be done to replicate benefits to Tiberium_.'" Sarah read. "Looks like Nod's noticed that Tiberium doesn't seem to do a number on her… looks like they're determined to replicate the benefits without the… appearance changes. At least, mostly, said something about a DNA inconsistency…"

"So, Nod's upper echelon doesn't believe Tiberium is inherently good…" Havoc commented sardonically.

"Well, Nod just said it was the catalyst, never said it'd be a wholly good thing."

"Sounds like hypocrisy if you ask me."

"Agreed. Now, let's go put a nail in Nod's research."

Using their Jump Jets, they leapt over the wall, and entered the Tiberium Chemical Plant, which was refining Tiberium for something.

Entering the building, they found a group of Confessors… all bearing the Black Hand's signature markings and equipment.

"The hand becomes the fist!" shouted the leader, who opened fire on the two intrepid GDI heroes, who rolled behind cover in the form of the second doorway in the interior.

Sarah cocked her grenade launcher, and sent a sonic grenade inside as Havoc threw himself to cover as the first rounds flew at them; several bullets hitting Sarah's chest and bouncing off the armor, fortunately. The Confessors were disrupted and thrown around, and Havoc (who was quote awkwardly against the wall, considering the missile launcher he was shouldering) pulled out his hand gun, a heavily, probably _illegally_ modified Vervec Commando Elite pistol, shooting a quick clip at the two he could hit, hitting both in the head, blood pouring our of the helmet's holes as Havoc's outdated, unaccelerated pistol left non-cauterized injuries.

The door came down and Militants poured in, Sarah sent another grenade towards them. Although risky at this close range, Havoc knew she didn't have a choice, as her alternative was a shoulder-mounted rocket. Everyone in the anteroom was all slammed into the wall or, in the case of some militants, blown out the door and into the walls. Havoc grunted as he got back up and shot the militants inside, killing them and leaving the room a bloody mess.

Sarah sent another two grenades at the Confessors, who were blown away, killed by super-sonic sounds finally piercing their helmets. She grunted as a barrage of bullets slammed into her back, knocking her forward, slamming her head into the wall as another squad of militants tried to burst in.

"Let's go!" Havoc shouted, grabbing her by her left arm and throwing her inside, then turning, and hurling a thermal grenade the corner. He shut the door and blew the controls out as he entered the main room. The door shut as a militant was trying to get in…

_Thud._ The grenade exploded, killing the Militants perusing... the door stayed for a comic minute, then fell down. Havoc checked his handiwork, wondering if the militants were _medium_ or _well-done…_ He was satisfied to see a lot of black-burnt blood and gore splattered throughout the room and on the door… a few limbs were left barely intact, but other then that, there was no sign that the militants even existed, save for the burnt blood.

"You injured?" Havoc asked as he walked over, looking at Sarah's backside, which was riddled with dents, most of which at the very least hit deep enough to bruise.

"I'll be fine, armor caught it. You don't need to _look_." She responded, indignant at Havoc's advance.

"Hey, I'm old enough to be your great-grandfather, so ease off. Let's find those tunnels."

"I might not be a veteran of two Tiberium Wars, but why don't we just go through the door that's clearly marked 'Science Tunnel Network – Do Not Disturb'?"

Havoc had no retort, and they went into the door, which turned out to be an elevator with only two options, ground, and tunnel. They hit the tunnel button, and rode the elevator down.

"So," Havoc asked as the elevator took its pretty sweet time, "Why'd you become a Zone Raider, didn't your father want you to be an officer, ya'know, memos and paperwork, talking to the press, all that gushy shit?"

"I _am_ an officer, and I'm also a Zone Raider." Sarah responded, "And if you must know, I joined the Raiders because I wanted to deal with real problems, both Nod, and Tiberium. As a Zone Raider, I could fight both, as Nod often got in ZOCOM's way, and our sonic grenades are useful in reclamation operations."

"I bet they were eager to have the daughter of a top GDI general…" Havoc answered sarcastically, unimpressed. _She's not bad in a firefight,_ Havoc thought,_ but I think the only reason she got through the advanced courses that they _say_ Zone Raiders have was because she's Granger's daughter… or maybe she inherited the genes. Hopefully the latter and they're just taking their time to pump the hero hormones... I mean, nearly killed by a bombing run? OK, it was overkill, but still, a real commando or spawn of a commando…_

His line of thought was smashed apart as the elevator stopped, and the door opened. A group of Nod Militants were waiting, rifles pointed. Before Havoc could even pull the trigger, Sarah had already fired her grenade launcher, blasting the entire militant squad into the walls and leaving many of them something that resembled porridge, smashed together by the sonic grenade's explosion.

However, it seemed that they had reached the end of their opposition. Exiting the elevator, they hurried down the corridors, checking cell after cell, finding all of them empty… except for one.

At the very end, they entered what looked to be a lab of some sorts. Being studied by pair Nod science ministers, Ahsoka was restrained, hands and feet clamped to a table, and a number of surgical tools dripping red with blood.

"You aren't authorized to be in here!" shouted one of the ministers, pulling out a handgun.

And for his trouble, he got shot in the face, Havoc shooting first, the minister being blown backward onto the tray of surgical tools (which was splattered with the blood of the now-deceased minister). The other one got a shot off, but the laser missed, and Havoc gave him what his partner got, a bullet between the eyes that went through his skull and out the back, blood along with it.

XXXXX

Sarah ran up and looked Ahsoka over. She was bleeding all over, long cuts made with what looked to be Tiberium-tipped surgical equipment. Ahsoka looked like she was in her last throes.

"Hold on youngin'," Havoc said, "We're gettin' you outta here."

"She looks pretty bad; we won't be able to get her back to any GDI base without patching those wounds." Sarah said as she put the safety on her grenade launcher and pinned it to her belt, using her limited medical training to check Ahsoka's injuries.

Havoc went to a console and shut the restrains off, causing them to retract. "We'll get her a patching up at the armory's wreckage before we get outta here, or at the very least medical supplies. Now we just gotta Exfiltrate…"

Sarah picked Ahsoka up easily and gently, pulling Ahsoka over her shoulder, and then said, "Hijack a Nod tank?"

"Won't work," Havoc responded, "None of them are big enough to hide in, if you think ours are modular, you've never been in a Nod tank. Never mind the fact you wear that armor."

"What about a Venom? Aren't those large enough?" Sarah asked as they rode the elevator out.

"Hey… not a bad idea." Havoc said, "Controls are probably the same as the Apaches had in the First Tib war, so I should be able to pilot that sucker. Let's hijack one from one of the Nod Air Towers... You stay out of sight; I'll pick you up once I've gotten it."

Sarah took cover in the Tiberium Chemical Plant's main room, tending Ahsoka's injuries best she could, but she could do little without making it worse, moostly applying (extremely) gentle pressure, letting the suit do the rest; it left the gauntlets bloody, but Sarah preferred bloody gauntlets to a lost life. Ahsoka fortunate to be unconscious because the wounds looked painful, but it was a two-bladed sword; it was unfortunate because it would be difficult to find out important news, if Ahsoka had any, and more importantly, it also meant Ahsoka was more likely to die.

_Sweet Jesus,_ Sarah thought, _it's hard to believe someone could do this with an air of scientific interest. Is there no humanity in this world anymore?_

Sarah looked out the small window, and saw a Nod Venom, Nod's main VTOL aircraft, land outside the plant. She could only assume it was Havoc, and rushed outside. The hatch opened, and Havoc shouted over the whine of the engines, "Get in 'ere, now!"

Sarah leapt in, holding onto Ahsoka, and the hatch shut as soon as they were inside. It was cramped, but there was enough room in the back for Sarah to lay Ahsoka down on what looked to be a bed; probably for the off-duty co-pilot when on extended missions. It was small, like the Venom, but it was better then nothing.

"Hang on, this'll be bumpy!" Havoc shouted as he took off.

"_Venom THX-1138_, _I'm seeing a deviation of course!"_

"Damn it," Havoc said, then, coughing into his hand, and pressing the respond button, he, mimicking a Nod pilot, said, "Sorry sir, engines are a bit flakey, I'm seeing how extensive the damage is before heading back to get it fixed."

"_Venom THX-1138, recite you're greatest achievement."_

"Blowing up Kane's little ReGenesis program, fucker!" Havoc said arrogantly, ditching any semblance of disguise, before hanging up and putting the pedal to the metal, not even attempting a further bluff.

Sarah, who wasn't able to buckle herself, slammed her head against the wall.

The left wing was shredded off by a SAM rocket.

"Yep, they're pissed!" Parker commented.

Another rocket blasted off the right wing.

"REALLY pissed!"

As they cleared Temple Prime's airspace, a SAM rocket found a sweet spot, blowing the engine apart and setting the Venom of fire, the tail end coming off; Sarah realized that only a relatively thin sheet of metal separated the cabin from open air…

"We're goin' down, hope you're ready for a crash!" Havoc shouted.

"That's a bit _difficult_!" Sarah responded.

Ahsoka groaned. The Venom was coming much closer to earth now, its engines in flames. Havoc was pulling up as hard as he could. The Venom skidded across the landscape, and finally hit the wreckage of a GDI Mammoth Tank (which was blown apart so badly that it was scattered into three separate parts; the individual treads and the middle, which was almost obliterated), tipping up briefly, before falling back onto its uselessly-extended landing gear with mundane finality.

Ahsoka's eyes opened, and widened suddenly when she saw the flames seeping through the back from the exploded tail end.

"Whoa!" Ahsoka said, slamming her head as she tried to catapult up, a loud 'ow' escaping her lips as she laid her head back down

"Glad you're up," Havoc said, kicking the door open, "Come on Granger, bring 'er out here!"

Sarah, ripping the security straps off of Ahsoka, grabbed her and rushed out of the Venom, just as a fireball consumed it. Landing roughly and letting go of Ahsoka as she rolled, Sarah said, "You certainly know how to almost get us killed."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Havoc responded arrogantly, checking to see if the missile launcher he salvaged earlier was still working… it was, but it's homing function was disabled.

"It got us out of Prime, but how are we going to get back to GDI? If you haven't noticed, we got a _whole fracking continent_ to cross, and no easy air transport, never mind _RED ZONES_."

"Uh, I don't know about you two, but I wouldn't mind some medical help." Ahsoka said, weakly, but managing to convey some irritation at being forgotten in the heated argument between a cocky commando and a dignified officer, despite laying in the mud, limp like the bodies of many burnt apart and, in many cases, obliterated GDI soldiers, and still bleeding from a number of different body parts.

"Get her into what's left of the Armory, and see if you can't find something to keep her stable." Havoc said, then, glancing at Ahsoka's lack of clothes beyond loose undergarments, added; "By the way, you look better in GDI armor."

"Leave her alone Havoc. I'm starting to see why the MP's wanted to put a bullet through your head." Sarah snarled back, "And if you keep it up, I might actually do it, assuming your skull isn't so thick from ego that it's Ion-Cannon proof." Havoc looked at her crossly, then started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Sarah asked, incredulous that Havoc was laughing.

"I think you just stumbled upon the reason Kane survived getting ionized…"

"Funny, Havoc… since this seems to be a get-together, where's Rex?" Ahsoka asked, rolling her eyes as the unintentionally amusing piece of humor (with a very limited audience).

"He's… busy. Yeah, busy." Havoc said, as delicately as a three-quarter of a century old war veteran with a bloated ego could.

"Hang on," Sarah said; looking away, they saw that the renegade Nod forces were disengaging and retreating… "Looks like the renegades are retreating…" she activated her suit's radar; "And we'll have company soon if Nod pursues."

"Good." Havoc said, "Hoped we were going to have company. I was wondering how I'd get my exercise today… Sarah, get Ahsoka into the armory, I'll handle the Noddies coming in. See if you can't rig us a ride either."

Sarah looked at him crossly, "I know you're track record, but you do really think we can fight an army?"

"Maybe you can't, but for me, that's breakfast."

"You're impossible," Sarah said, sighing, helping Ahsoka up and helping her into the armory. _I hope Havoc is better then they say he is… because if he tries to one-man army this, this will hurt a _lot_._

XXXX

Havoc looked ahead; Nod had sent a pitifully small team to apprehend them; a dozer-blade equipped Scorpion Tank, 32 militants and their four Confessor officers, and two Reckoner Transports to carry the militants. _Pfft, easy pickings._ Havoc thought as he loaded his salvaged missile launcher; while heftier then the First Tiberium War Szakolczay 66mm Type R12 _Locust_, it had much more punch. Aiming the missile at the Scorpion Tanks cockpit from his cover (wasted Predator Tank), Havoc whispered, "A little closer… a little closer…"

He pulled the trigger and quickly reloaded; the missile, unguided and nothing more then a rocket, sped forward and hit the front dozer blade. Havoc cursed as he saw it; no damage. He fired again, this time hitting the left side, _No, my left, his right,_ he recalled, blowing part of the tank off, but it was nothing that it could do without… he fired again, and hit the dozer blade again. _Not good, not good at all…_

The heavy Reckoners stopped and turned around to give the militants their optimal firing range as they charged out _en masse_. Havoc pulled out the rail carbine, dropping the missile launcher, and opened fire on the militants as they came out, ducking as the Scorpion fired and proved yet again how 'impressive' the aim was of those who graduated from the Nod Academy of Marksmanship. He missed by a long shot; but Havoc realized that it was actually more dangerous then good; if he missed and instead hit the armory…

Havoc couldn't worry about that, he had a large militant company to shoot through. Glancing out of his cover, he threw a grenade over and into the first Reckoner as its doors opened; the grenade exploded, the interior of the Reckoner amplifying the explosion considerably, destroying both militant squads in the Reckoner in an instant, and cooked the transport inside out, likely obliterating the controls. As the other Reckoner opened, he opened fire himself with his rail carbine, the first militant squad and the second's Confessor dead before they got a shot off; the second squad, however, quickly dispersed. _Damn it! Competent militants!_ Havoc thought as he shot one in the head, blowing the head off and spraying the area red. Losing track of the militants, he quickly threw a C4 charge on the surviving Reckoner, blowing it up.

As the militants started to spread out, crouching and moving as they fired, Havoc was forced to use his pistol, but he was probably the best shot in GDI, and the whole solar system. He shot headshot after headshot, blowing the air militants had for brains out into the wild blue yonder.

All but the last three, two who managed to get into a blown apart GDI Predator Tank and effectively entrenched themselves against Havoc, and one more that Havoc couldn't find.

"Hey, idiots!" Havoc shouted, standing up.

"WHAT?" one of the other militants asked, "You wanna surrender or something?"

"No. I got a present for ya!" With that, he threw a C4 charge over, the charge landing on the militant… and Havoc pushed the detonate button.

The militants were instantly consumed by the explosion, and Havoc had a satisfied smirk as he watched one of the militant's hand (of Nod) fly into the wild blue yonder… and land with a sickening crunch .

Several bullets ricochet off of his back, igniting his jump jet instantly and causing him to soar into the sky, and came down, his fall somewhat decelerated by the sputtering out jump jet. Landing with a roll, he figured that he probably broke his ribs or legs… _Again? Oh well, more work for the docs when I get home._ He looked up and saw the last militant, a great grin on his face as he realized who he nearly killed. Lining up for the kill, he opened fire with his old, archaic, battered _Raptor_ auto rifle of the First Tiberium Way, spraying a hailstorm of bullets that the gun was known for…

All of which horribly missed Havoc, save for a number which welded into his chest plate and left a number of bruises on his heavily abused (but still somehow healthy) body. Havoc snarled; _THIS kid is going to get cherry tapped, to remind him _who_ the fuck he's dealing with…_

Havoc pulled out his pistol, taking shots, expertly making sure that they never made contact with the militants flesh, and only just seemed to miss. However, each bullet took a chunk out of the militant's civilian clothing, which was worn under a very simple set up of salvaged body-armor dyed to Nod regulation (Havoc suspected this one in particular was wearing old GDI First Tiberium War Kevlar worn by officers). The militant kept trying to hit Havoc, who wasn't moving, and only a few shots hit. As the militant reloaded, Havoc began a slow walk, shooting an occasional pistol hit and casually side-stepping out of the way as the militant tried to shift the aim with his horribly battered_ Raptor_.

Havoc was about to put the pistol to the militant's head (as the militant was holding the rifle to Havoc's chest and all)… and tell him off for messing with a commando, when a burst of light hit the militant and caused him to drop dead, his entire torso blown away and sent sailing into the wreckage of the GDI barracks. Havoc turned…

And saw that Ahsoka had, grabbing a dead GDI Zone Trooper's battered rail gun, shot the militant. "What the hell, Ahsoka?" Havoc asked.

XXXX

An hour later, they were on the move. Ahsoka had, with help (or, more accurately, having them do heavy lifting) from Sarah, managed to fix a Pitbull ATV up enough that they could use it to escape. The countryside was a blasted ruin of buildings, tanks, and bodies, both Nod and GDI.

"So where we headed?" Ahsoka asked, now wearing a set of GDI Composite armor, sans the headgear. Her injuries have proved to not be too dangerous despite the bleeding (which itself was dangerous), as Nod was apparently very _careful_ with their studies, but in a tad of irony, her Tiberium-related injuries were healing the fastest, where they had whipped her or cut her with a Tiberium-tipped scalpel/whip. She had to be careful of bending her back too aggressively, unless she opens some of the scabs and cause more bleeding, and they were probably going to scar… but she could easily move and even fight… from a vehicle.

"An old Steel Talon base in Croatia. It doesn't have a ConYard, but it's still intact. The Noddies left it alone since the Talons had to abandon it." Havoc explained.

"Why'd the Talons abandon a base in the middle of Nod territory?" Sarah asked, "I would have figured some of them would have loved a chance to test their stuff against real enemies."

"Boyle and his bureaucratic doves." Havoc responded simply. "A little luck, and Nod won't realize we're there. Once we let command know we're there, they'll probably send an Ox transport or something to pick us up. Don't get why they had to abandon the Orca Carryall, those were good suckers, and kept true to the tradition of the ORCA aircraft, only way to fly, ladies."

"Nod figured that out too." Ahsoka chimed in, strapped to the backseat of the Pitbull… the gunner's seat. "They designed their own Carryall, or at least something called a Carryall."

"Heh, guess Nod doesn't respect Intellectual Property or whatever those doves call it." Havoc commented roughly, swerving the Pitbull around an eviscerated Predator Tank.

"Since when did anyone?" Ahsoka retorted.

XXXXXXX

'**Abandoned' GDI Base**

**Croatia**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

The first thing Ahsoka thought when she saw a pair of Steel Talon Wolverines, sans the Steel Talon insignias, marching out of the base was Nod had captured it. Then she recalled General Mitchell ranting to Rex about how 'We're helping those of the Yellow Zones, and we're being stopped from doing what's right by bureaucratic bastards who would like to have a few undeserved creature comforts!' Then she recalled that the Talons had an 'accident' there, which had leveled a good amount of the base's equipment, walkers mostly, prior to the abandoning of the base.

The two Wolverines came in closer, suspiciously, but then, they aimed their guns up in the standard, and also traditional, non-hostile locking used by Wolverine pilots. A hatch opened on the top of one, and a local man in what looked to be a police officer's uniform came up. As Ahsoka looked closer, it was clear that it was a recolored version of a GDI tank crewman's uniform.

"Morning! I take it that you're coming to visit?" the officer said jovially.

"More get some medical help for our friend, but in essence, yes." Sarah said. "Our friend here is injured." She gestured Ahsoka, who was still covered in cuts and bruises.

The officer looked closer, then asked, "She's that Talon who got captured by Kane, right?"

"Yes." Sarah said honestly before Havoc could ruin it any further. It wouldn't take a genius to see through an attempt to lie about who she was.

"The Talons helped us out in protecting us from Nod when they splintered again, and helped us in reconstruction. It'd be an honor to help your friend out. Least we can do after the Talons said 'suck it' to that Boyle idiot and made sure we wouldn't be wholly left to ourselves."

Entering the base, they noticed that there were not just more a few older Wolverine Mark II's on hand; several being fixed and having their anti-infantry machine guns checked, but a couple Titans as well, but all GDI insignias were removed, instead, a common police symbol painted on. A couple Pitbull ATVs were parked as well, adjusted into something similar to a police car.

Dismounting from their Pitbull, Ahsoka leaned on Sarah's shoulder as they went inside the GDI standard-issue armory… which was, like everything, stripped of GDI logos and symbols… in fact, the Croatian flag was raised, rather than Nod or GDI's banner.

"I'm assuming you've stabilized her already. We have little in the way of medical supplies, especially for Tiberium related wounds, but we'll see what we can spare." The officer said, "By the way, I'm Cameron. Technically it's 'Captain' but really, I just picked the longest straw, we don't exactly have much in leadership here."

"I'm surprised," Sarah commented, "how this much hardware got missed in an 'accident', or why the Talons would trust civilians with their equipment."

"You must be a Granger." Cameron said, "Mitchell told us about you and your father. Oh, right. Yeah, it is a bit of a surprise, but the Talons know how to blow shit up, and besides, their guardianship of this area was for long enough that a number of our people are actually GDI soldiers, a number of whom still come by to check on things. The Talons set up a bunch of fake Wolverines and we disassembled all the walkers, then had one of the 'Titans' gyro-stabilizers 'fail' and have it ignite a whole magazine, or what they thought was a magazine. No one died because of the fact that the only people involved in the 'accident' was someone in an actual Titan, which held. Of course they had to move a lot of the equipment away, but they left enough here that we can defend ourselves."

"And Nod hasn't tried to confiscate it all?" Ahsoka asked.

"Nah." Cameron said, opening the door to the medical bay, "They don't mind us as long as we don't get into revolt. Far as Nod's concerned, we're just 'using the weapons of Fascists' to protect our people and those of the nearby towns. Though they do levy some tax on us, usually Tiberium harvesting operations… and we don't say 'no' to their recruiters for having a rally to get more recruits… and sometimes they've forcefully taken some from us, but that was fortunately rare... they haven't done it since a month after the Talons left, especially once they realized the advantages of having 'non-Nod' military presence that is 'favorable' to them in the area."

"You know that Boyle will probably find out about this, right?" Sarah said frankly, as Ahsoka, with some help, was put onto an empty bed. "He's got interest in Ahsoka here."

"He can't send troops at us without fucking up his public image, can he?" Havoc answered, "And he can't launch an inquiry on the Talons about letting them use this equipment without potentially causing the Talons to withdraw support."

"Wouldn't that constitute as treason?" Ahsoka asked, concerned as they checked her pulse and blood pressure, putting the standard-issue medical 'wrap' and pump around her forearm.

"Probably," Havoc said, "But it's not like he can spare resources to bring them in, and since the Talons are quite familiar with mobilizing from place to place and keeping things down low. Hell, even if Boyle got the Ion Cannon Network back online, he won't get a chance to fire it on them."

"I'd hope they get the Ion Cannon back online," Ahsoka said, "Captain Ironside went rogue, and I think ionizing him would be a nice way to pay him back for that."

"I saw that." Cameron commented, "General Mitchell called me up just before the broadcast, warning me that Ironside had gone rogue and that he knew about the hardware we pack here."

A doctor walked in, "You'll have to excuse me. I need to run some analysis on the patient."

"Of course, Doc." Cameron said, and everyone left, leaving Ahsoka alone with the doctor.

"Alright then," the Doctor said to Ahsoka, "Let's see what happened to you…" with that, he unzipped the composite armor, once more leaving Ahsoka in her undergarments, and looked at the scars and wounds.

"Hmmm. I see a few scars from those Tiberium whips Nod use now… but they seem to of healed _excessively_ well." The doctor said, almost surprised, then he noticed her more exotic features. "Of course, you got the good part of Tib…."

Ahsoka winced as he pressed on one of the slashes, a tad _too_ hard. _He's probably angry at something._ Ahsoka decided, _Though from what I'm told, getting mutated is supposed to hurt a_ _**lot.**_

**XXXXXXXXX**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Granger was looking at the message Havoc had sent him, which was to be, for some reason, forwarded to Mitchell. It read,

_Granger and/or Mitchell,_

_Found your daughter (Granger), she's fine, though I think all the other GDI soldiers got killed, so I guess she's a Sole Survivor now. Anyways, Nod did some crazy experiments on Ahsoka, think Nod's gotten the DNA, so expect them to field some Tib boosted humans. Probably gonna shoot the ReGenesis stuff a friggen century ahead. So be careful in case Nod starts using it. Anyhoo, found her, busted her out, and we're in Croatia now, where the Talons had an old base. I'd recommend sending a Talon transport, can't let that dirt bag 'director' Boyle find out about this._

_From, and with all the gushy regards you officers love,_

_Nick Seymour "Havoc" Parker_

_PS: __**Where's my god-damn medal already?**_

Rex had to read it, looking up at Sandra, Granger said, "Sandra. Go get Commander Rex, he should read this."

"Right away sir." Sandra said, getting up and heading over.

Granger sighed, putting his fingers on his forehead. _I can't believe that it almost happened…_

But intruding his thoughts was the last man Granger wanted to see. Stuffing the letter into the pile of paperwork he had, he stood up, ready, even eager, for the shouting match that was going to ensue.

XXXXX

"Commander?" Sandra said, intruding on Rex's thoughts.

Rex was sitting there in his bunk, just staring at the ceiling. He was lost in his thoughts, and only came out if called. _Funny… I can loose a whole company of my friends in a single fight and come out swinging, yet when someone whose four years older than me bites it, someone who wasn't bred for fighting, I loose it all._

"Yes, Sandra?" Rex said briefly, glad for the brief reprieve from his thoughts.

"General Granger's asking for you, I think he might have news."

Sandra didn't need to say _what_ the news was on, but Rex had to get solid data if possible. Pulling on his armor, but not bothering with his helmet, pauldron, or even his kilt, he followed Sandra back.

Rex walked into Granger and Boyle having what was likely a heated argument.

"I made a decision I thought to be correct!" Granger shouted at Boyle, slamming a folder onto the desk and staring rail guns at Boyle's face.

"I understand, General," Boyle responded, 'serene' as ever, "But I cannot, I _will not,_ be left out of the loop _**again**_. I will _not_ have operations commence without my knowledge. I will _**NOT**__ have_ the public thinking that GDI's leadership has lost touch with its brave soldiers. And I _**absolutely refuse**_ to be unaware of things that will endanger _**our**__ public_ or risk our position with _**our**__ public_." Boyle turned around, and had evidently heard Rex walk in.

"Ah, Commander, just the man I wanted to see. I've been giving a great deal of thought to our strategy in Sarajevo and I believe our next move must be…emphatic. _**Nothing**_ less than the annihilation of Nod's temple."

Angrily, Granger walked out from behind his desk and next to Boyle, "That is _out of the question,_ we have already **wasted **too many assets trying to take down that God damn temple! Kane's forces destroyed an entire _**two**_ _**legions**_ of ZOCOM and baseline GDI forces!"

"Fair enough," Boyle said, "But I refuse to believe we have not learned _tactical_ lessons from our losses."

"Our troops are spread _thin,_ we cannot afford any more _**expensive**_ lessons. Lessons earned at the cost of _lives_, at the costs of _sundered families_."

"We cannot afford, General, all this hesitation. We all saw Kane's broadcast! Time is of the essence here! GDI needs a major victory! Something the _media_ can get behind, and run with. And I for one," Boyle turned to Rex and pointed his walking stick to him, "Have every confidence that our Commander can deliver. After all, he destroyed at least _five_ of Nod's legions, certainly he can handle two or three more?"

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Rex thought, _Granger called me up here for this? Or did Boyle use Sandra_? But the smart, automatic soldier part of his brain, suppressed after Tiberium radiation and years of much more free will, was coming back. _I was a bred soldier… I can't let my emotions get in the way._ In many situations in the past, Rex had fallen back on his soldier side to keep him going, and now, it was time to do it again, even if he had hoped that part of his life was past.

"I hope I've made myself clear." Boyle said coldly to Granger, who looked like he's rather be hanging Boyle in a pool of Liquid Tiberium. Blue Liquid Tiberium. And with Boyle conscious even after he was melted into a liquefied goo.

But all that left Granger's mouth was "Yes sir." And with that, Boyle left.

Granger, inhaling, turned to Rex. "This mission is ill-advised to _say the least_… but I got some good news. Come over here."

Granger dug through his paperwork and grabbed a letter, "I asked the retired Havoc to help out, he owed me a favor for pulling his ass out of a bad spot and I called it in. Ahsoka's been rescued, and is at an old Talon base in Croatia. I want you to take a convoy and set up a forward base there if possible, get the details from Havoc and my daughter there."

Rex read over the letter, things becoming clearer. He had a new respect for Granger, risking what could have potentially been Court Martial to send Havoc in like that, especially with GDI authorization and (admittedly not-so-disposable) commando equipment.

"I… I…" Rex stuttered, amazed. "I don't know what to say."

Granger gave a sad smile, "No need to thank me or anything like that Commander. Fortunately, once you get there, you should be able to see her and secure a foothold in the region, then see if you can recruit from the locals, GDI reinforcements will be limited, I'm afraid. A force from ZOCOM and baseline GDI was sent by Boyle to blast Kane out of Sarajevo and they got killed almost to the man and woman." Granger stopped at that, but Rex knew that it was because he nearly lost his daughter in that battle. _I've been in those kinds of sole survivor situations far too many times, even if it isn't surviving alone._

XXXXX

**Kane's Quarters**

**Temple Prime**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

Kane watched men quickly packing up materials as the Temple, suffering from a GDI orbital strike, said, "That goes, that goes… destroy that and I will have your heart…"

He looked up, seeing his brilliant commander, fresh from victory against the renegade Nod forces, standing there. Kane respected her wish to remain anonymous; after all, as her previous work for the Brotherhood had been a thorn in GDI's side, being anonymous was a boon. Kane knew her name, of course. "When my _own army_ conspires against me, it is time to leave behind the miserable race of animals who call themselves man… to _escape_ this God-forsaken rock…" He paused, realizing he may of ranted a step to far already, beating his own record by a thousand fold (Which was not much to say), "But… but now is the time to celebrate."

He could see the look of confusion on his Commander's face, as she tried to understand how GDI pushing Nod back in general and _bombing __**Temple Prime**__ from space with the Steel Talon's __**orbital bombardment satellites**_ as a time to celebrate. Kane walked towards his throne, "The bait is placed, the trap is set…" he put one hand on the throne, another on the desk, "GDI will dig its own grave."

More of the Black Hand's clergymen were moving various icons and texts from the area, some of _Kane's own belongings_, belongings Kane knew, of course, he never let people touch and live. He could see his commander's confusion… "AS you can see, preparations are already being made for phase _three_." He picked up a thin jar (which contained what was said to be lung of a livestock animal Abel had sacrificed to God, the last one before Kane killed him) and handed it to one of the Black Hand, who took it with a bow and moved. "We are taking only the essential icons necessary to build a great temple…" Kane paused as one of the orbital strikes caused a light fixture to surge, "in a great beyond. In a week's time, you and the rest of my Inner Circle will begin our ascension."

Kane paused, looking his commander over as the surging light fixture exploded… "You need a name, a name that will live in fear for GDI. You lead insurgencies across the globe, taking a prominent role, as a Confessor in the Great Rio Uprising, and as a junior colonel in Jericho, where you lead an uprising that destroyed a GDI Mammoth Tank factory, and won against all odds against General Harkin… and you caused insurgencies in China, chasing ZOCOM across the map and destroying it's Great Wall against Tiberium, leaving the reclamation hubs there in ruins and putting ZOCOM's crusade against Tiberium back for months!"

The to-be-known Insurgent nodded, inclining her head briefly.

"As such, take a title that will be known throughout the Brotherhood; and the world." Kane could see it in her closed eyes; it was as if he had made the young woman's dreams come true. Kane… almost felt a pity, considering how such a dream was likely created, but he had work to do; "Now, my _Legendary Insurgent, _our work here on Earth is not yet complete. Take your troops down to Australia, salvage what you can of Kilian's forces, they will be needed in the final battle. Go now, my child…" Kane pointed to the door, "and remember," he opened his arms as he stepped backwards, an alarm going off on LEGION's console as if reporting an incident, "have faith! Deliverance is at hand!"

As he hurried (or rather, walked powerfully, as the sight of Kane running would create awkward questions), he entered the _Montauk_, Anton Slavik's old Mobile Subterranean Transport, which he used when transitioning from Temple Prime to LEGION's hub; it would become more difficult soon, but LEGION's main hub, or the one he used the most, was located in southeastern Russia, almost in Manchuria… and Kane did not pick that location lightly.

XX

When he arrived after the day ended, Kane strode in, Alexa talking with LEGION. _Yes, LEGION. You grow… alas that I will have to leave you for a time after; for the Insurgent will need watching over. I knew that life was not limited to…_ he cleared his thoughts as LEGION registered him.

"LEGION, what's wrong?"

"It's your prisoner, that GDI bitch." Alexa said, "LEGION?"

LEGION showed the screen, showing Havoc and, to Kane's surprise, General Granger's _daughter_, who should have been dead from the Vertigo bombing run during the Siege, breaking Ahsoka out. Kane realized then that Kilian's betrayal was far, _far_ worse then he could of imagined…

"Thank you, Sister Alexa, LEGION, for informing me. Havoc will not get away with this disturbance of the plan _lightly_. Sister Alexa, get Brother Ironside… I believe his familiarity with the Steel Talons will be needed. Go, contact him from the communications center; I wish to speak to LEGION alone."

Alexa bowed and left, leaving Kane alone with his proverbial (but in Kane's mind, just as real) son (or as close as a man-made computer could get), "LEGION, the Temple must seem to still take orders from me, if GDI suspects us now, then all that has been worked for will be for naught; I am trusting you with maintaining the guise that Temple Prime is still defended; Brother Ironside is to recover the GDI commando and bring her back; I want you to delay GDI as long as possible from recovering her. Once GDI breaches the temple, and they will have to if they are to win, let them recover her and evacuate her. I know that GDI will do so; if only to study her. You must maintain the charade, but you must let GDI win this round… for while we may suffer a great morale blow, this is in trade for GDI destroying themselves and setting themselves up for what will be their greatest challenge… and play right into our hands."

**XXXXXX**

**One Day Later**

**Old Steel Talon Base**

**Croatia**

**Yellow Zone Y-2**

Ahsoka was cleared to walk alone after the bleeding stopped on a whole and she had been bandaged up, the white bandages almost wholly covering her legs and arms, but not the joints, so she maintained enough locomotion to move.

She decided to try driving one of the Titans again, see if she still had it. Taking one if the three local Titan walkers out to the range set up just north of the base, she blasted target after target apart, and despite being an older version of the Titan mark II, it still worked quite well and the Gyro-Stabilizer wasn't acting flaky as they tended to at times, especially in previous models where something as stupid as a stray bullet from a boot-camp green rifleman could destabilize the whole walker.

It had turned out Mitchell had sent a Combat Engineer he trusted on an under-the-table-after-hours mission to help fix the Gyro-Stabilizers and ensure that the civilian population had a defense against Nod, or, more likely, the various dangers of Tiberium that manifested themselves in traditionally combatable forms, such as Visceroids. _He must of really believed in these people to be able to make their own choices. GDI's going to have to answer for abandoning the Yellow Zones soon… especially those in the command level… or they would, if Kane didn't blow the Philadelphia up first._ _Well, Boyle is still around, maybe he'll get _it _soon._

"Ahsoka, get back to base, ASAP!" Sarah ordered via the communications channel, "Nod's coming, and we need to hide before they know we're here."

"On my way!" Ahsoka answered, putting the pedal to the Titan's legs. Back at the base, she deactivated the Titan, letting it lower, and leapt out, another driver hopping in quickly, then reactivating it.

She saw Havoc and Sarah outside, ready to run and carrying backpacks. "We're gonna hide in the foothills for a bit, Doc's given us some medicine, but we have to go." Sarah explained, "Havoc wanted to one-man-army them, but he's not _that_ good."

"Shut up." Havoc responded, "Let's hurry and hide your pansy hide..."

"Nice wordplay, Shake_spear_." Sarah retorted hotly, "But if we took out that Nod squad quickly back at Sarajevo or just plain hid from them, the firefight and your _cherry tapping_ may not of gotten attention."

Heading out into the countryside, north, away from the Nod forces, they hurried. Taking cover behind a rock outcropping, and giving Ahsoka a pair of binoculars, they watched things happen.

A Nod commander, Ironside, walked up, and asked, "This month's tax is a special bonus. GDI Lieutenants Ahsoka Tano and Sarah Granger, as well as the loud-mouthed, poorly-mannered, egocentric, bloated, buffoon, Colonel Nick "Havoc" Parker. We have tracked them to this area and expect that they shall be found by your quite effective police forces. If Parker gives you trouble, we've brought an army to deal with him. Our men will patrol as well, to assist you, of course."

"Very… well," Cameron said, obviously intimidated. He nodded to his men. "Comb the city and the sewers, leave no stone untouched. They're more likely to loose themselves there as they'd stand out in the countryside."

The men nodded, and started prepping their Pitbulls.

"We have to get to the city… unseen." Ahsoka said, watching as the locals readied Pitbulls for patrols.

"Are you crazy?" Sarah asked. "We'll get caught!"

"Exactly," Ahsoka said, "Then we hijack a Pitbull, give the drivers a solid concussion, seemingly hide the bodies, well, kill the Nod drivers, but not the locals, and get out of there ASAP and highly visible, then keep going until we reach GDI lines."

"One problem… there aren't any GDI forces inbound, and the lines are through Red Zones." Havoc pointed out.

"Well, let's hope we can find something shielded for the food then," Ahsoka said, "Because I don't see any other option." All GDI and Nod Vehicles were equipped to resist Tiberium radiation, protecting the driver. Unfortunately, a GDI Pitbull would only have enough for the drivers… and backpacks. If they brought anything else, they needed to bring something shielded from Tiberium to keep it safe.

Swimming across the river and climbing up the rock face, they rushed darted into an alley. It had taken them twenty minutes, and the local police now had all their Pitbulls looking for them. Ahsoka's bandages came off quickly in the water, but Ahsoka ignored the pain as the water caused her massive number of cuts (enough that she probably looked like she slept in a coffin with swords); she had more important concerns at the moment.

_I can't let anyone else die over me…_ Ahsoka decided as they dodged another Pitbull patrol, _I'm not worth _that _much, Never be a prisoner, and never take one… assuming you can help it._

"What do you think, which one should catch us?" Sarah asked.

"I'm thinking one near the city limits, then it'll be clear we're trying to escape."

Creeping to the edge of the city, something buzzed in Sarah's radio.

"Damn it, Rex is coming!" Sarah whispered harshly, "GDI thinks the base is abandoned, and they're sending Rex to put it back online for use against Nod…"

"Good thing you rerouted the Base's communications when they weren't looking then," Havoc said.

Suddenly, all the Police vehicles turned towards the base.

"What the…" Havoc said, scratching his head in confusion. "Well, guess that plan didn't work… any other ideas?"

"Let's find out what we can," Sarah said, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

They crept towards the base, and saw that Nod was rounding up the _civilians_ and herding them together.

"What do you think?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know…" Ahsoka said, "But as you said, I've got a bad feeling about this…"

Ironside grinned evilly, then pulled out a podium, complete with a microphone, a smile crossing his face. Then, in a booming, inspiring voice, he began a speech.

"This is a day to be** remembered**. Nod triumphs over GDI, destroying utterly their so-called "civilization" at Yokohoma Harbor… a false charade kept by politicians and bureaucrats to keep the few in the position to be overlords over the many. GDI tastes victory, yes… but the victories are small, and while in the tactical they dominate, in the strategic, they fail _**spectacularly**_!"

He turned, then adopted a frown. As Ahsoka watched, she wondered how a former Steel Talon could switch to Nod rhetoric so quickly…

"But alas… there is treachery that must be punished." A man was brought up to the podium, but Ahsoka couldn't recognize who it was.

"This man undertook a sacred _vow_ to fight the tyranny that is GDI, and yet… he deserted. And thus… his punishment."

Someone stabbed an oversized syringe into his chest, the blood and the fact he just had his lung pieced the least of his worries as the green liquid flowed into the man. He began to scream and collapsed, melting before their eyes as the liquid Tiberium turned the Nod deserter into liquefied goo… Ahsoka didn't want to think of how painful it would be, but the screams told her all she needed to know about that method of death. A few members of the crowd gasped at the brutality, but most were able to remain calm…

"THIS," he seemed not to be addressing anyone in particular, "Is the going to be the fate…"

A long pause as he looked around, his voice resounding across the city as loudspeakers that were covertly installed began to blare…

"… of these people if you don't come out of the shadows and surrender, _Ahsoka Tano_, can you let these civilians die so you can escape?"

Ahsoka stopped dead in her tracks, shocked at the cruelty… and the insanity of the statement.

"WELL, WILL YOU?"

Havoc put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and said, "Bah, this is typical Nod tactics. It's gotta be a bluff… hell, I wouldn't be surprised if this is all Nod sympathizers…"

"No." Ahsoka said, taking Havoc's hand off. "They're not bluffing. He's dead serious. And these civilians aren't in Nod."

"Ahsoka," Sarah said, "We have equipment, let's fight Nod and draw them away, buy the civilians time for Rex to arrive. At the very least draw enough attention from the civilians so they can get out."

"The clock's ticking…" Ironside shouted, as a couple _children_ were brought up and held at gunpoint. The three children began to whimper.

"No; that'll just get them all massacred by the Flamethrower soldiers. We're in the noose. You two get out of here, make sure that Rex finds out about this… and tell him I'm sorry… that there wasn't any other way."

With that, she took off and crossed the bridge before either Sarah or Havoc could respond.

XXXXX

Sarah watched as Ahsoka reached the edge of the base, dumbstruck.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Havoc said, as if it was completely stupid, "We did all that just so that she could surrender herself? What the fuck does she have, a death wish? What a wuss. We shoulda attacked. Two Commandos and those noddies would have been crisp before they could hurt anyone… well, many people."

"Wuss? She's basically trading her life for the lives random strangers, and you're calling her a wuss? Come on you gutless worm, we gotta help Rex out."

Havoc decked Sarah in the face, but her armor's faceplate took it.

"Do not; call me; a coward!" Havoc said.

"We can kill each other _later_, let's go."

XXXX

Ahsoka took a deep breath, and walked into the base. The Nod militants grinned evilly, watching her walk in, unarmed.

"Shackle her." Ironside said, and a group of the Black Hand's disciples, lead by a Confessor, shackled Ahsoka.

"I've surrendered. Now let them go, they aren't part of this war." Ahsoka said simply, putting fear past her as the shackles were applied; it would not help her.

XXXXXXXXX

**In Transit to Old Steel Talon Base**

**Croatia**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

Rex was driving a lead Titan once more, this time; it was upgraded with Rail Guns and an experimental adaptive armor. He was leading a task force containing Wolverines, Pitbulls, new Slingshot AA vehicles, two-dozen spare Titans, Predator Tanks, APCs, both Repair and regular, loaded with GDI infantry, and finally, the feared Mammoth Tank, all escorting a single GDI MCV and supply trucks.

"Commander, I'm picking up a lot of Nod grunts on the scanner! Damn, they're in the base!"

"Form up; we'll have to reclaim it."

XXXXX

**Old Steel Talon Base**

**Croatia**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

"So glad you actually decided to think highly enough of these people to actually put your life on the line for them." Ironside said smugly to Ahsoka, who was now chained to the ground on a solid slab of metal.

"I'm not the one who threatened to murder them in cold blood." Ahsoka responded coldly.

A pair of Black Hand disciples were sliding her into a armored crate with air holes, and a Carryall was landed, cargo bay door open… and a group of Black Hand Confessors standing by with guns loaded.

Ahsoka took one last look out towards the rising sun before the cargo bay door closed, trapping her in the dark. _That might be my last view of sunlight…_ Ahsoka realized as the seriousness of her actions set in. Someone else climbed aboard, and then the Carryall took off.

XXXX

**Just Across the River from old Steel Talon Base**

**Croatia**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

"Alright, we're here…" reported Stevenson to Rex, the former in a MCV, the latter in his Titan assault walker.

"Move into the city, check your fire, remember, we're here to AID these people, not destroy their homes!"

A wing of Vertigo Stealth-Bombers suddenly appeared, and instead of bombing the attack force as Rex was expecting, they bombed the road, blowing a massive crater into it… too big for Titans to walk through, and too small for the MCV to drive down then up.

"We're gonna have to take an alternate route!" Stevenson shouted, and a trio of Pitbulls went ahead to illuminate a path.

The lead one suddenly exploded as a laser shot it, the other two Pitbull crews frantically shouting things about Obelisks of Light.

_Obelisks of Light…_ Rex thought dumbly for a moment, before realizing that Nod had just set up a trap and had his forces pinned in the road!

"Ahsoka," Rex shouted, punching up his radio, "We're pinned in the city by a trio of Obelisks of Light, we need some help, they're charged and keeping a steady stream of laser in our way, and from what I know, our armor won't be able to advance at all without being destroyed from below!"

"Hang on Commander," _Sarah Granger_ responded, "me and Havoc are inbound."

"Roger that, I'll just hope Nod doesn't try to bomb us. Slingshots, get into position so that you can intercept any incoming Vertigos!"

Several hovercraft with massive quad cannons moved into their positions. The GDI Slingshot was a new Anti-Air vehicle armed with heavy-duty quad cannons which were described to Rex by his engineers as "Anti-Air turrets on steroids".

A transmission cut onto his screen, Kane was sending him a taunt.

"Commander," Kane said, almost jovially, "You seem to be _lost._ This is _NOT_ you're precious Blue Zone, this is _Nod_ territory. Tell you what; I'll have my forces send you home… in a Body Bag."

"You lost your bargaining chip Kane," Rex spat back, "and when I get my hands on you, what McNeil did to you in Cairo is going to be like a slap to the ass. Commander Rex out." And with that, Rex cut the transmission and got to keeping his forces organized.

XXXXXXXX

**Several Blocks south**

**Croatia**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

"Let's go." Havoc said, and Sarah nodded. _Time to move… hopefully Havoc can handle restrained warfare again._

A group of Nod Militants rushed them, but Havoc mowed them down with Eva (his pistol) and Sarah with her borrowed GDI standard rifle.

Another group of Militants went into a building and returned fire. Sarah cocked her grenade launcher, and send a grenade inside, blowing the Militants out of the room they occupied.

Havoc proved why he was called such, demonstrating skill with a pistol that would make even hotshot galactic smugglers (if such existed, Sarah noted) blush in shame; Havoc could shoot anything, nothing he did seemed to miss… either he was that good, or some divine-like being was with him… _Probably the former,_ Sarah decided.

"You're no slouch," Havoc said after Sarah took out two militant squads with her grenade launcher before Havoc could even pick one of them off.

"I'm guessing that from you, that's a compliment?"

"Wouldn't be if you didn't punch me or call me a coward."

"Jerk."

"With a heart of gold, _my lady_." Havoc finished sarcastically, before shooting a Nod Shadow in the head as he tried to put a bullet into the back of Sarah's skull.

Advancing quickly up the streets, clearing buildings with Sarah's sonic grenades, the two reached the intersection near the Obelisk of Light position.

XXX

Sarah activated her scanners and scanned. The Nod Obelisk of Light had evolved considerably since the First Tiberium War, advancing each time. She knew that the technology had its flaws, it took time to charge, couldn't carry its own power source, the works, but when it was set to go, it was brutally efficient, melting and blowing up metal and broiling people alive… in a one second cooking period to 'ash'.

"So," Sarah asked, "Any ideas?"

"The guards are enough for me. You can blow the Obelisks up, take a couple C4 charges."

"Alright," Sarah responded, reading her jump jets and heading to position as Havoc strode out of the building.

XXXX

As he walked out, understanding that his little handgun Eva couldn't handle ten militant squads at once, loaded his rail carbine and rushed forward, and started shooting the Nod guards, who were laughing their heads off at GDI's foolishness and how 'easy they were to trap', and causing the militants slouching in the buildings to rush out in fear, opening fire… only to be shot; but their sheer numbers left a number of additional dings on Havoc's armor and took a chunk of his right ear off, leaving the top tip ridge of his ear a bloody mess…

"Thanks for making my ears symmetrical!" Havoc shouted, before throwing a grenade.

XXXX

Sarah watched the Obelisk's firing cycle; as a child and a GDI soldier, she had learned to fear and respect the power of the Obelisk of Light. But she also knew it's weakness; Obelisks had firing cycles that were consistent, once you learned that, you could use cover to get close and get inside… but Sarah had another idea that would either end with the Obelisks destroyed… or she would be just another tally in the history, just one more casualty in another Tiberium War, just one more kill for the dreaded Obelisk of Light.

She activated her Jump Jet and soared over, landing on the nearest Obelisk, grabbing into its exotic pattern. Slapping a C4 charge onto it, she leapt to the next one, and then the next, applying C4 as she went. Jump jetting towards Rex's convoy, she pressed the 'detonate' button mid-flight, causing the three towers to explode and collapse.

She landed on top of a Titan, and the driver started cursing, and pulled out dual pistols.

"Oh, hey there Commander." Sarah said, grinning from under her helmet at Rex, who was about to open the Titan's hatch and shoot her.

"Nice landing, Lieutenant." Rex said, bemused, "Now, let's get this convoy to the base and help the locals."

Advancing through the city, the massive GDI strike force stopped Nod from getting a single shot at the supply convoy. Scorpion and Stealth Tanks alike exploded under the intense firepower of the Titans, detected by the GDI Pitbulls, and shredded by Wolverine's and their brand-new Armor-Piercing bullets. It was, as Sarah had seen in many historical documents, typical GDI curbstomp; GDI still took casualties, but nod had to pay at least twenty-five people for every GDI soldier they killed… infantry wise, at least. _The real shame,_ Sarah decided as she watched Havoc destroy yet another militant squad, taking time with each soldier just to _toy_ with them, _is that Nod can afford to maintain such an offensive…_

Crossing the bridge, the MCV rolled into the base while the Titans, Predators, and Mammoth Tanks rolled north and blasted Nod's few exterior guards away from the base, and entered a holding pattern within the cleared center. Slingshots and Pitbulls dispersed throughout the base, while the Wolverines moved towards holding the bridge against hordes of Militants and Fanatics who just wouldn't get the idea.

XXXX

"Damn it… looks like Nod's moved all the civvies away." Rex said, worried.

"They're being held in underground facilities sir, but Nod has left them." Reported Sergeant McCarthy. "Their leader, Cameron, wants to talk to you."

"Commander Rex, you must hurry. Nod has brought reinforcements in and Ironside has escaped. I know not what he came for; he locked me in a cell! Commander, time is short, you can use anything in the base fight against Nod!"

"Roger that, and thank you." Rex responded, then sent Stevenson orders to set up a full field base, extending the base defense perimeter a good few hundred feet in every direction.

"**Commander,"** EVA reported to Rex, **"Nod has established an Armor Base, an Infantry Base, and an Air Base in the area. Destroy all three to secure our foothold."**

Rex pulled up the recon shots, and whistled. The Armor Base was loaded to the brim with Scorpion and Flame Tanks, with many Laser Turrets set up to hold back an armored advance. The Air Base had many SAM turrets and enough landing space for a few squadrons of Vertigo Bombers… and was located on a cliff, so Jump Jets and calling in Ox transports to ferry troops would be his only option. The Infantry base looked the most beatable, just Nod Shredder turrets and a man spam so large that the Wolverine's would have to bring extra bullets… a rare, given their storage vaults.

_If Kane wins here,_ Rex thought; _it'll be a pyrrhic victory at best._

"Havoc, Granger, McCartney, Joric, Hesling," Rex continued, "I want you two to take as many Wolverines as you can and rip the Nod infantry base apart. Take along a Mammoth just in case. Slingshots, Pitbulls, spread throughout the base and make sure the Airbase is contained."

"Understood, Commander." Sarah responded, then Rex heard her organizing the Wolverines for a heavy hit on Nod's infantry.

"Tex, how's your Titan doing?" Rex asked as the Titans and Mammoths organized, Mammoth's at the East of the base, to go up the hill and attack the Nod base by the south, while Rex took the Titans up north and attacked from the west.

"Just another problem with the Gyro-Stabilizer, direct hit again." Tex responded, almost exasperated that she always seemed to get her gyro-stabilizer damaged. When Rex considered where it was located in relation to the Titan's legs, he couldn't help but wonder if the universe had a sense of humor…

"Get it fixed, you can catch up." Rex ordered.

"Yes sir."

"All units in position, Commander." Reported the lead Mammoth Tank.

"FORWARD!" Rex ordered, and the Mammoths rolled in towards the Nod Armor base's southern entrance, the Titans from the western. He knew it was a fairly risky tactic; especially if Nod had any surprises, but time was of the essence: He needed to steamroll the base before it could fully launch its armor divisions; he knew that Flame Tanks, Stealth Tanks, or, if the worse came, Avatars would easily be able to slow GDI's forces down, or, in great enough numbers (or they just got close enough), destroy entire batallions. Nod did not become a threat by being easy to destroy.

Nod's armor divisions scrambled, desperately trying to stop the advance, but the large scale fire from Mammoth Tanks in the south, and Titans in the west, proved to be too much. Very soon the Titans and Mammoths met up, and began to demolish the base piecemeal, nothing withstanding the powerful attacks of the Titans' 155 millimeter guns or the Mammoth Tanks' dual 175 millimeter guns and dual rocket pods.

But this was not without casualties. Rex lost three Titans to the laser turrets, and a Mammoth lost its treads and rocket pods, now stranded in the battlefield.

In a short amount of time, the Nod armor base was ruined, smoking craters and liquidized metal generously spread throughout the base.

Plenty of smoking bodies too… and body _parts._

"Commander," came the voice of Sarah Granger, "We've leveled the enemy infantry base to the man… no one got the chance to surrender with Havoc around."

"Understood," Rex said gravely, "Are the Juggernauts here yet?"

"Affirmative," Stevenson reported, "They are now s_hell_ing the hell out of the Nod Air Base, and we have Firehawks on air patrol."

"Roger that, all armor units, return to base." Rex ordered, leading the Mammoths and Titans back.

Rex watched as the Nod forces broke at their airbase and fell back, towards Temple Prime. Dismounting from his Titan, he looked around.

Sarah walked up, and said, "Commander… I have some bad news…"

XXXXXXXXXX

**Reactivated Steel Talon Base**

**Croatia**

"Commander Rex," General Granger said to the assembled group, only him visible on the screen. "We got a problem. It turns out that the surprise forces that wiped out the ZOCOM force was from a base in Albania, Nod's last supply base in the region. Unfortunately, a full scale attack won't work, if Nod detects any large amount of GDI forces beyond what might qualify as a lookout squad, they'll get all the vehicles manned and we'd have to slug it out or they'd evacuate and hit us from somewhere else… and we can't afford that. You have to infiltrate it, and disable the defenses so we can deploy a Firehawk bombing campaign against it."

Sarah leaned in, "That's going to call for a pretty small team, but also large enough that it can fight the large number of Nod patrols there'll certainly be."

Havoc snorted, "Bah, I could infiltrate something like this and let the Ion Cannon blow what's too big… but of course, the incompetent _doves_ let the Ion Cannons get SHUT DOWN, and now I gotta pick up the pieces they left…"

"No Havoc," General Granger said, "You've done enough, consider the debt paid."

Havoc nodded, "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and deal with the Noddies in San Pedro, they're misusing something sacred there." And with that, he shouldered his over-sized rifle and left.

The younger Granger shot her father a look, to which the elder Granger responded with a sigh. "Look, a small strike team could probably hit the place before Nod even gets the vehicles manned, while the main force pounds the daylights out of Nod on the front."

A second screen opened up, and Joshua Mitchell, General of the Steel Talons, appeared. "Commander, Granger is going to let me command you're mainline forces while you deal with the supply base in Albania. With luck, Kane will assume that you're being recalled for some reason."

"Thank you, General Mitchell." Rex responded, nodding. "Alright then, I'll assemble a small, elite strike team to hit the base in Albania then."

"Oh, by the way Rex," Mitchell said, "The local cop Cameron says that if you can secure Reinforcement Bays, I can get you some heavier equipment, we have access to the Yellow Zone 1 tunnel network now thanks to him. The only Nod base it leads to is the one in Albania, but we can use it to send you some help there if you can secure the bays."

"Thank you, I'll appreciate it." Rex said, nodding.

"Wait," Granger said, "Mitchell, what about your orbital bombardment system?"

"Our mass-bombardment of Temple Prime proved the system horrendously dangerous to Nod, so much that they retrofitted their Beam Cannons to intercept the slugs. Only seems to work if they're en masse and they know, though. I'm going to let the bombardment cool for a while, and drop the occasional shell, just to keep them on edge." Mitchell explained, then looked at Rex, "Oh, Rex; I understand you're worry; I've ordered the operators, when striking, to stay clear of the Tib Chemical Plant."

"Thank you, General." Rex said, sighing, hoping it did not cost GDI. _It shouldn't, as long as we keep Kane from launching or exporting his bombs…_

"Very well. Good luck, Commander." General Granger said before the transmission cut.

Rex looked at the data, and assembled a small strike team consisting of a few Riflemen squads, McCarthy's, to be exact, a few Missile Squads; a team of Grenadiers, a four Predator Tanks equipped with Rail Guns, and a few APC's to carry the infantry. Rex then got a communiqué from Kirce; he was authorized to bring a Rig along.

Rex rubbed his chin, finding he hadn't shaved since Ahsoka had gone MIA... _I still can't believe I failed to get here in time…_ he shoved that thought out of the way, focusing back onto his duty. Rigs were a useful GDI piece of technology, essentially a mobile defensive structure. Using similar technology to the Construction Yard, they unpacked into a GDI 'Battle Base' which packed a pair of Guardian Cannons, a mass missile launcher that could blast air and ground alike, and a supply of Repair Drones to repair vehicles. It was the best thing a commander could hope for to keep his forces repaired in the field when a Steel Talon Repair APC was impractical. And they were rarely impractical.

XXXXX

**Nod Subterranean Command Center **_**Montauk**_

**Location Unknown**

**Zone Unknown**

"Prepare her for the final procedure." Kane said, looking into an omniscreen of the lab Ahsoka was strapped down in. "We must hurry, before GDI arrives with the Ion Cannon."

XXXXXX

**Author's Notes: REVISED EDIT: **_**Again, I'm telling a bit more on the Nod side with the pre-page quotes, but I'm going to have some fairly plot-important moments from the Nod side flash onto the flow, briefly, in a method similar to a commercial break, if you understand my meaning. I'm also going to try and tie the three campaigns a bit more coherently together, as there are some paradox-ish holes that I noted as I checked through for the rewrite.**_


	6. Chapter 6: Iron Fist

_Damn it, Sandra, I'm a General, not a Politician. Boyle's power games are going to far, if he makes any more stratigic decisions or absurd regulations, Nod is going to win by sheer virtue of Boyle's incompetence..._

- General Jack Granger to Lt. Sandra Telfair, after a 4-hour GDI Council meeting.

_Ahsoka Tano has… unique abilities; abilities that humans will eventually discover has… slept in certain members of the species. However, while not an actual human herself, she is the first we have found who is _trained_ to actually use those abilities. For this reason, and this reason alone, Sister, is why she was studied. She is part of my… back up plan as well. You will find that GDI will not know what hit them when the time comes. For now, Sister, lend LEGION your best Black Hand soldiers, he needs them in Brazil, before General Granger cuts our rich, overstuffed politician of a puppet's strings._

- Kane to Oxanna Kristos, after the latter shows disgust over Ahsoka being left alive; shortly after Ahsoka was returned to Temple Prime

**Chapter Six: Iron Fist**

**1 Kilometer away from Nod Supply Base**

**Albania**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

"Alright," Rex said as Sarah watched him give the crash briefing, "Squad A will go and take out the Nod forward base so that we can move in undetected; it's a small outpost with little connection, so it should be simple. Lieutenant Granger shall lead the strike team." He nodded to her, and she returned the nod. Heading to the squad she'd be with, she filled them in on her plan.

X

Sarah's squad crept up to the base, using the various ferns and bushes as cover, observing the Nod Base. Nod Militants were on patrol, and there were three Laser Turrets for anti armor duty. The base was, fortunately, perimeter enough that GDI's advance would be undetected once it went out, and it was just far enough away no one would notice the buildings collapse.

"No sir," an officer amongst the Militants said to someone via radio, "No sign of GDI forces." He hung up and instructed his men to continue their patrol.

Tapping her wrist gear, Sarah aimed her grenade launcher fired a grenade. GDI soldiers leapt out of cover and opened fire, the Riflemen shooting the Nod Militants, catching the officer in the chest before he could alert the Nod command, while the Grenadiers rushed in and threw their grenades towards the Nod Laser Turret Hub.

The three Nod Laser Turrets opened fire, but the beams were slow enough that Infantry could jump out of the way. And jump out of the way, they did. Granger shot another grenade into the Hand of Nod, blasting a group of Militants rushing out from the much smaller Hand's mess hall, most likely.

The turrets' hub then exploded, causing the remaining turrets to self-destruct, and the Grenadiers began throwing their grenades at the Hand of Nod located in the outpost, and it collapsed under the explosions. They then did the same to the Nod power plant, demolishing that as well.

"All clear," Sarah reported to Rex, "Bring in the armor."

XXXX

The four Predator Tanks, four APCs, a pair of Pitbulls, a Slingshot, and a Rig rolled up, Rex riding on the top of the Rig.

"Predators take point," Rex ordered, "infantry, get into those APCs." Rex began organizing troops and issuing orders. From inside the APCs, infantry were quite able to shoot out of a 360 degree gun port at the top of the APC.

"There's the bridge," Sarah said, "Let's hurry!"

Advancing ahead, a pair of Scorpion Tanks rolled down, upgraded with Dozer Blades for defense and Spitfire Lasers to tear Predator Tanks apart, with Militants running next to them. The tank battle began and ended swiftly as the Predators demolished the Scorpions, aiming above the dozer blades to nullify that advantage.

"GDI is attempting to cross the bridge!" shouted a Militant, "DESTROY IT!"

"Damn it!" Rex shouted, as the bridge exploded when a Nod perimeter turret set off a series of concealed explosive barrels. "EVA, need an engineering team pronto."

"**Commander,"** EVA responded, **"Combat Engineers en route, but cannot land until you destroy a Nod SAM site to the west to ensure a safe landing."**

"Men, situation update. Nod SAM sites to the west. We need to take them out so the engineers can land." Rex ordered, checking the charge on his DC-15. "Same strategy."

The Predators moved forward, and a trio of Nod Scorpion Tanks and a duo of Raider Buggies came out, guns blazing. The Predators responded with their Rail Guns. The two Raider Buggies exploded from a single hit from each Rail Gun as the pilot was blown apart, taking a direct hit, and the Buggy broke apart, since a human body doesn't do much to stop a Rail Gun's heavy shell. The other two Predators blew a single Scorpion apart, their combined Rail Gun attack easily blowing it apart. Turning their attention onto the other Scorpion Tanks, and thus they blew them apart.

Advancing up the hill, meeting little opposition, they demolished the three SAM Hubs, causing all nine SAM turrets to self destruct.

"Engineers are clear for landing!" Sarah reported back to Rex, who was still at the bridge, ready to rush in and reinforce her if needed.

"Understood. We have a minute until they arrive, so get back here." Rex ordered, then turned to the Rig, said, "Get that thing deployed, I want to repair the tanks."

The Rig, really just a big truck on treads in appearance, with an oversized window for the drivers' area, began to unpack, the chassis elongating into three connected circles, the oversized window in the middle, now with a missile launcher atop of it, and two Guardian Cannons taking the smaller circles. Repair Drones flew out of the chassis, and, when the Predator Tanks arrived, moved over to repair their damage, the nano-repair claws of the drones easily making the armor return to normal condition in the right locations.

An Ox transport landed, and out of it came four men, each carrying a suitcase and a heavy duty handgun.

"One of you four hardhats head over to the bridge and repair it." Rex ordered while he was directing the Predators into a spearhead formation, "Then all of you get into an APC, the Rig has extra engineering tools if you need 'em, so resupply while you can."

One of the engineers rushed to the bridge's house, and began applying parts to the various control panels. One minute later, a new, composite-material bridge expanded into existence, and thus GDI could now cross and begin its attack.

"Let's GO GO GO!" Rex shouted, the Predators taking point. Nod Laser turrets on the other side of the bridge attempted to respond, but the Predators, advancing, aimed for the hub and blasted it to smithereens.

"**Objective Complete."** EVA registered, **"New Primary Objective: Secure the Eastern Ridge; Nod is positioning Mantis Anti-Aircraft drones to prevent our bombing run."** As EVA gave the update, Rex saw orbital pictures taken from one of GDI's reactivated spy satellites.

"We need to take the ridge to the east for the Firehawks, my EVA is reporting that Nod's moving up some of those Mantis AA drones." Rex reported to the others.

"No problem," Sarah said, "We probably can get up there and defeat them easily with an infantry squad, those drones were never efficient against agile infantry."

"Negative," Rex responded, "My EVA unit is reporting Shredder Turrets, those things will kill you piecemeal. We need to get some more Tanks, according to our Intel; Nod captured a couple Predators and is keeping them in a motor pool, next to the ridge we're going after."

Unfortunately, Nod response forces were coming in. The Rig deployed its guns, and opened fire, while the tanks moved into a defensive position, the Rig's repair drones repairing them as the fire poured in on them as they returned fire.

XXX

The response defeated, the Rig packed up and the GDI team moved quickly towards the east, keeping checking fire sent towards any tanks or buggies that decided to come out. Setting up next to the ridge, the Rig deployed. Sarah cocked her grenade launcher again, and went to the east, knowing that the relatively unguarded area wouldn't be difficult to secure. "I'm heading for the motor pool."

"Alone?" Rex responded over the radio.

"Less obvious that way, and there's no anti-infantry defenses."

"Alright, go ahead."

The Motor Pool was defended by a barbed wire fence, and Nod Laser Turrets at the gate, which she knew were connected to a hub that she could make out inside. The Predators within were being moved deeper in by Militants who were pushing. GDI had obviously managed to lock the treads before they were captured.

_Barbed wire?_ Sarah thought, _No problem._ Activating her jump jet and launching over the fence, she landed softly, a single Nod mechanic glancing at the noise from her Jump Jets, but no one noticed her approach. She then rushed forward, and slapped a C4 charge onto the Nod Laser Turret Hub, and it exploded, the three Nod turrets collapsing as they self destructed.

Setting another C4 charge on the Nod War Factory's tunnel exit, and watching it collapse, she called an APC over. An old Reinforcement Bay was located in the Motor Pool, and an engineer reactivated it. Tank crewmen, GDI ones, rushed out and leapt into Predator tanks, and got them rolling again. Five Predator Tanks rolled out of the Motor pool, and although they lacked Rail Guns, their 150 millimeter guns made fast work of Nod buggies trying to respond.

"Motor Pool secured." Sarah reported.

"Are you sure you're not a Commando?" Rex asked, "That was pretty quick. Anyways, get the tanks over here, then have them punch a hole through the ridge. An APC is going to bring an engineer to reactivate the Reinforcement Bay up there so we can bring in a pair of Surveyors loaded with some SPAM for a field airbase."

SPAM, or Self Propelled Assembly Modules, were used by the MCV of both Nod and GDI for the assembly of their buildings, oft loaded onto trucks, sped to the site, and left to assemble. Surveyors rarely carried any, but when they did, they usually had a second Surveyor available to make sure Ground Control was established properly.

_Sure is handy to have buildings near-instantly deploy._ Sarah decided, wondering how any of the Tiberium Wars would of ended without such a capability.

The five Predator Tanks blew the Shredder turrets apart, the shotgun shells of the Shredder Turrets bouncing off the armor of the Predator… or so it looked. In reality, the shells mostly bounced off, but some of them got stuck in the armor, leaving bullet sized dents in it. The Predators leveled the Nod forces atop; leaving smoking craters all over, the remains of Nod's robotic Mantis Anti-Air drones nothing more than scrap metal. An APC rushed up and an engineer from the APC ran into the Reinforcement Bay, which then opened after the engineer unlocked it.

A Mammoth Tank rolled out of it, followed by two more Predators. They advanced down the hill and joined the battle, sending the few capable Nod tanks flying into the air and back to Earth in blazing heaps of screaming metal.

Two Surveyor vehicles came out and deployed into GDI Outposts, and an engineer set two SPAM modules up, which expanded into a pair of GDI's newer support landing field, for eight landing pads total, four to a field, and eight Firehawk multi-purpose combat jets, upgraded with ZOCOM Ceramic Armor and the new 'Hardpoint' ammunitions module, flew in, and landed. They were part of the _Black Angel_ squadron, one of the most feared and elite members of the GDI Air Force.

XX

"Firehawks ready to go, Commander. We got Hellcat Bombs and Rattlesnake missiles aplenty."

"Roger that Captain Jace," Rex said, "Begin your firebombing campaign."

"Understood. Alright boys, let's get dirty."

He eased the throttle, his VTOL engines lifting him into the air, and he flew forth. "BA three and four, target X-65, five and six, X-66, seven and eight, hunt down any Nod Venom in the area."

He got a chorus of affirmatives, and he looked at the Nod Obelisks at the main production center; he knew it was out of range for the ground forces, but it was better not to take chances. Flying towards the nearest one, he dropped his three bombs onto it, and his partner followed. The bombs hit the obelisk, blasting its focusing crystal apart, the crystalline fragments falling to the ground and shattering with authority now gone. He heard something hit his wing; the local Nod forces were trying to shoot at the Firehawks, and the buggies were having luck. With a barrel roll, he evaded the next burst and brought his Firehawk down to reload. The automated systems installed into the mobile landing pads reloaded his Hellcat bombs.

As he and his wingman took off for another one he watched Black Angel Seven and Eight taking down the Nod Venom craft in the area, ensuring clear skies as they bombed the Nod factory into oblivion. _I'm just glad I'm not a soldier down there, GDI or Nod,_ Jace thought, _the sight must be… horrible._ He reminded himself why he was an ace, not a ground pounder. He couldn't help but pity the Nod soldiers, just a little bit, if only because of how they were dying. He let it sink in, breifly; he owed them that, as he had denied them a chance to fight back... he did not have qualms about keeping them from hurting anyone else, but he still felt he should at least pity them for being unable to do anything to even save themselves.

XXX

Rex ordered his ground forces to hold their position, and the GDI soldiers were pouring numberless clips into the Nod response teams that had come to play, ranging from militants to reactivated Scorpion Tanks, and even two Shadow Teams had attempted to assault them from within, only for the Rigs to detect and obliterate the teams. Suddenly, a video stream appeared at the side of his helmet.

Kane walked onto the screen, and said, surprisingly jovially at first, but then more mockingly as it went on,

"Ah, Commander! You are _very_ brave, destroying all those… _**unmanned**_ vehicles. Tell you what; let's see how you fare when they shoot back!"

All over the complex, Nod pilots and crews were running to the nearest tank, but the Firehawks' bombing campaign proved to be faster and more deadly than the attempts to crew the tanks. Fire roared throughout the complex, the constant bombing by the Firehawks creating a bigger and bigger inferno every time they dropped a bomb. It did not help that each explosion also set of stores of fuel for the vehicles, napalm for Flame Tanks, and ammunition for all. Nod soldiers, enlisted and technical, regardless of anything, be they high ranking or low rank, male or female, no matter their skin color, no matter their heritage or background; all of them in the many yards of tanks were being burnt alive, the firestorm that GDI had created was raging out of control, burning flesh, bone and equipment. Figures ran through the fires, screaming at the top of their lungs as long as the lungs could provide air... it was, to make an understatement, a horrifying sight, a sight that made Rex envy fighter pilots and naval servicemen; they didn't see the blood and gore as often as the infantryman.

"Back, back onto the ridge!" Rex shouted, as the firestorm that had been created started to rage out of control.

The Rig packed up and rolled up, as the tanks, rolling backwards so their armor faced any incoming attackers, kept Nod Scorpion and Flame tanks that were barely surviving the inferno to get clear.

A duo of Vertigos flew in and bombed one of the Predators, creating a fireball. Rex caught sigh of Sarah as she rolled out of the way as the 150 millimeter gun, which landed where she had been a split second before.

A pair of Firehawks chased the Vertigo duo down, and brought them to the firestorm created by the Firehawks, the Vertigo pilots screaming as they fell into a blazing inferno that matched anyone's description of the Fires of Hell.

"**Commander,"** EVA reported, **"The firestorm is raging out of control. Please stand by as Ox transports fly in to recover you. We have artillery creating craters to contain the fire via land, and are destroying the bridge so that it cannot spread across."**

"Come on, back, back! BACK!" Rex shouted, "Firehawks, load up on full and be ready to get clear of the area at a moment's notice, the flames here are insane!"

"Roger that Commander, we're readying to evac." Jace reported.

"Ox Transport group 9-Z, coming in, get ready for loading!" suddenly came onto the channel.

"Everyone,_** get on a transport, NOW!**_" Rex shouted as the flames began to creep up the hill.

A pair of Oxs picked up the Mammoth Tank, and the Rig was picked up by one. Each tank was assigned a single Ox transport, as were the Pitbulls and APCs.

Rex beckoned the Infantry squads into the four Ox transports that were going to carry the infantry out.

"Come on, keep going!" Rex shouted, standing at the open ramp. Sarah, last in the line, ran into the Ox transport, and Rex followed her in, and slammed the door shut, sealing and pressurizing it.

The SPAM modules disassembled, and the Surveyors, loaded with the SPAM modules, were picked up by another pair of Ox transports.

The entire group, Firehawks escorting, flew away. Rex, from a small viewport in the Ox, looked at the carnage. He could hear the screams of men and women being burned alive even from the altitude as they sped away.

"That is some firestorm." Rex commented finally, grimacing as he watched the flames begin to die out… but even begining to die out still left a massive inferno; by the time the fire died down, the whole complex and maybe even the whole sector would be a large, black, ash covered wasteland.

"Yeah…" Sarah said slowly; Rex could hear shiver in her voice. Then he remembered she had been on the receiving end of a similar attack, except much less of a ongoing conflagration and more fragmentation... he wondered if she felt survivor's guilt. _She's lucky though... she's in Zone Armor, so the flames at least have to get through that; she may not have to worry about the flames themselves, just the heat..._

He shivered, his thoughts drifting back to GDI Basic Training; particularly about Nod forces, especially the Black Hand's elite flamethrower soldiers and Flame Tanks; GDI soldiers feared them, especially the infantry... and GDI would not deny the Black Hand's fear was well earned, and terrifyingly so.

XXXXX

**GDI Frontlines**

**Bosnia, Advancing towards Temple Prime**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

"Commander, you'll be glad to know that we only had a few injuries while you were away." General Mitchell said to Rex, via a transmission in the MCV. "Nod hasn't been engaging us, but we suspect they're rallying a group together to put a hell of a fight up."

"Thanks for keeping my men going, General." Rex responded. "Hopefully the next time we talk, Kane will be dead and we'll be doing mop-up operations of what's left of Nod; and doing it properly."

"Good luck, Rex." Mitchell said, and then the screen blanked.

Rex punched up the tactical display, and whistled. Nod tanks and infantry divisions were massing for what looked to Rex like a last-ditch attempt to hold them back… but the location they choose confused him.

_Why the heck are they going to try and fight us in an open field? Wouldn't the cliffs at Sarajevo be a much better choice for defense?_ Rex wondered, astonished. _Then again, Kane's a madman, so who knows what he's trying to do._

"Apocalypse Squadron, take point." Rex ordered, "And the rest of the Mammoth Tanks form up on either side of Apocalypse Squadron, then the rest of us. Nod's readying a stand in the field. Let's roll over them."

The GDI forces advanced, and now Rex could see the Nod forces. Fortunately, they seemed to be lacking most of their armor… one battalion of 30 Scorpions and a squad of 12 Flame Tanks was only Nod armor, compared to the 15 Mammoth Tanks and 50 Predators and 40 Titans, they were outnumbered three to one. _Irony._ Rex thought richly. Nod had, since the outset of what the war, had been winning via surprise and superior numbers. To think that Nod was now outnumbered was a quite pleasing thought.

"Form up," Rex ordered. Given that the area was a wide plain, GDI could engage Nod where it hurt: Frontline fighting and a full slugging match, "We're going to strike frontally and hard, we have the firepower and armor to do it. Infantry, you're vulnerable out in the field, find cover and work your way up behind the tanks; Zone Troopers, you're the exception, support the tanks right along side them. Air support, try and clear out the thicker spots with your explosives, but watch out for concealed SAM sites, you're mostly glass cannons, so play it smart and don't hang around any more then you have to."

Then Rex spotted the 3-clawed tower-like structures. Nod had deployed Disruption Towers. _Crap, not good!_ He thought as a trio of Nod's Flame Tanks suddenly materialized, or so it seemed, as they left the stealth-field. More Nod forces did so, and it quickly became clear that Nod had hidden its army under the towers…

"**Commander,"** EVA reported, **"The Ion Cannon is almost online. Hold position until it is ready."**

"WHOOO HOOO!" cheered Stevenson, "Nod won't like the odds now!"

"Well, let's give Nod the satisfaction of being blown apart before we get the chance to ionize them." Rex said, then updated his soldiers, "Good news, Ion Cannon is back online. I'm sending you the strike coordinates and safe distances. If Nod comes out of the target area, blow them to hell."

The Mammoth Tanks rolled forward, Titans and Predators behind. Rex had, by that point, managed to requisition and outfit most of the tanks and walkers with Rail Guns, and Nod's armor divisions that attempted to make a mechanized cavalry assault were blasted apart as GDI's tanks did what they did best.

GDI infantry moved up behind the tanks, supporting to offensive, but were not the main focus of the battle. Juggernauts moved up and deployed, and began firing their triple 200 millimeter guns at the concealed Nod base… assuming it was a base.

Nod infantry started materializing within the stealth field as they opened fire, and the GDI infantry responded appropriately; with rockets, bullets accelerated to plasma akin to a blaster bolt, and GDI snipers picking them off with the Vervack-made rail gun sniper rifles.

"Commander, we got them on the run!" reported one of the Mammoth Tank drivers. "They're running all the way to Prime and I don't think Kane's gonna have a good day by the time we're done!"

"**Commander, incoming transmission from the Pentagon."** EVA reported.

"Put it up." Rex said, thinking it would be Granger giving him a stratigic update.

To his great disapointment, Redmond Boyle appeared on his screen. In the distance, a bright blue beam suddenly blasted a large number of Nod's retreating forces, leaving a crater where the enemy army had gathered; Rex could see that they had established under the disruption towers a large number of makeshift tents; it looked as if an MCV was unavailable.

"Commander, you've _done it_! Nod is on the run. With the Ion Cannon, we can end this war and bring in a victory that will break the terror that is Nod. However… you are being recalled to the Pentagon. We suspect Nod will unleash whatever aspects of its nuclear arsenal is left, and thus we can't have high-ranking officers on-site. Your forces shall continue to Nod's little 'Temple Prime'. When they arrive, you should be able to connect to them again with GDI Battle Control and lead your troops to a final victory!"

The message cut before Rex could reply. He called up General Granger.

"General," Rex said, "I'm almost afraid to ask…"

"It's true Rex… Boyle is recalling not only you, but my daughter as well." He seemed almost surprised. "I don't get what game he's playing at, but it smacks to me of political credibility... or worse, he's not expecting this attack to work and having us go through anyways." Granger explained, and then signed. "Look, I don't like it, and I know you don't, but we can't argue with Boyle on this one… a recently passed regulation by Boyle's men on the GDI council lets him get away with it."

_Or worse, Boyle wants Sarah to be out of the battlefield so he can get chummy with the General without having to justify sending her on suicide missions to him…_

"Right… I'll get a transport ready." Rex said, disappointed… No... He was angry. It was a Steel Talon tradition to lead with the men they fought with, as the Talons had a tradition of working together and hitting the enemy hard, be they Commander or Private. The fact that Boyle was undermining that long-held tradition was a discrete (or overt) kick to the groin to the Steel Talons, a subtle message of payback for going behind Boyle's back, both in Egypt, and their base in Croatia.

XXXX

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

**10 Hours Later**

"Commander," Boyle said, smiling, "Your forces have arrived in Sarajevo, and now we can put the final nail in Kane's coffin. The Ion Cannon is back online, and Nod will face reckoning today."

General Granger sighed, looking older than he was… and that was saying something. He walked up, and said, "Director… the Ion Cannon is out of the question! Nod has Ion Disruptors protecting that damned temple and the Ion Cannon would be out of the question regardless. InOps has confirmed that Kane is working with _**Liquid**__**Tiberium**_ at that damned place!"

"And why would the Ion Cannon be a problem?" Boyle crossly responded.

"If blown up with a proper catalyst, a massive chain reaction would occur, with all proximate Tiberium, Liquid or Crystal, instantly _detonated_, with the power _**greater**_ than a _**200**__**megaton thermal nuclear missile**_! The Ion Cannon easily could be that catalyst!" Granger responded coldly in a loud voice, like ice on metal. "Dr Gerould is currently caught in an Ion Storm in Chile, but as soon as he's out of it, he'll be able to talk you out of it."

Boyle nodded, but then said, "General, this is a _Nod_ controlled Yellow Zone," but he was cut off by Granger, who said,

"And they're damn well ready to tell Kane to stick his head in the **business end** of an Ion Cannon! Or are you not reading the reports?"

"General, Commander… this conversation is an unnecessary delay. We must start the attack, and end this war! Commander, Battle Control is being readied. Good luck, Commander." Boyle said, and dismissed Rex with a small wave, smiling.

XXXX

**GDI Battle Control**

**The Pentagon, Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"**Establishing Battlefield Control, Stand By."** EVA reported.

"Commander, we're at Temple Prime and we're beginning the siege. Kane has Ion Disrupter Shields in the place, which is cancelling out any Ion Cannon strikes; it just bounces off and disappears!" Stevenson reported after such a strike.

"**Commander, destroy the Ion Disruptors in Temple Prime to prevent Kane or Temple Prime from surviving."**

"**Commander, Director Boyle has ordered us to capture the Tiberium Chemical Plant and the Nod Science Administration building within Temple Prime, we are to confiscate all data relating to Liquid Tiberium weaponry."**

"**Battle Control: Online."**

Rex overlooked the holographic control. Kane's Temple was being defended by many Obelisks of Light and many troops, dug in along the cliffs.

Sarah leaned in, and pointed at a giant monstrosity, a Nod Redeemer, their most powerful armored walker to date, capable of demolishing large numbers of soldiers single handedly, and not just infantry, but Mammoth Tanks, capable of _stepping_ on them and crushing them, almost literally, under the 'boot heel', though with great difficulty.

"Great… they got a Redeemer." Sarah said, pointing at it. "Something tells me that we need something heavier than Mammoths. That thing alone killed a lot of my friends who were working on the MARV project." Her face hardened as she looked at the monstrosity, which, in the hologram, was only knee-high (the battlefield itself in the table lower then the edge), and Rex recognized that she'd like nothing better then to grab it and throttle it in the most painful way (to it) possible.

As if to answer the statement, the door opened, and General Granger walked in.

"Commander. I think you're gonna like this."

A large Nod battalion was moving towards the GDI base… but then, from behind GDI lines, a giant _thing_ walked up from behind.

Standing at several stories, as tall as the Redeemer, and armed with four massive Rail Guns on the side, with a pair of AA missile turrets and a chin-mounted auto-cannon, this massive walker lumbered onto the battlefield to the cheers of GDI soldiers. The walker, which Rex finally recognized as a Mammoth _Mark II_ _Walker_ marched through and blasted the daylights out of the Nod forces pushing to oust GDI from their foothold.

"I thought the Mammoth Mark II was decommissioned!" Sarah exclaimed, surprised.

"Havoc had managed to scavenge one up… turns out he went down to San Pedro and managed to get a Mammoth Mark II for you to use… Don't ask." Granger explained. "All he told me is that it involved a lot of dead Nod soldiers and capturing four Nod Tiberium Refineries in the area…"

"That would explain the 'something sacred' he went to kick Nod away from…" Rex said, failing to conceal a grin, realizing that Havoc probably did all that single handedly. "Let's show Nod why the Mammoth Mark II was the bane of Nod during the Second Tiberium War."

The Nod Redeemer moved out to engage, and the Mammoth Mark II took center stage…

The battle of the centuries was about to begin.

"Twenty on the Mammoth." General Granger said, pulling out a couple credits, a rare smile on his face, that kind of smile when you know that for once, you're on the offensive, and the enemy will be obliterated by, at long last, having a super weapon at your side.

XXXX

**Author's Notes: REVISED EDIT:**_** I switch Kane's Wrath timeline a little; The Doctor Vanishes takes place after Temple Prime; I thought it'd make more sense chronologically, so the sudden announcement that Dr. Giraud was missing would make much more sense instead of it being noticed, if using this fanfic's time, about 2 weeks after he disappeared. GDI's bureaucracy isn't **_**that**_** incompetent people, and the army was there in spades.**_


	7. Chapter 7: In the Line of Fire

_Is… is anyone listening? Nod has captured Dr. Gerould and they've transported him out via Carryall… we tried to knock it down so we could rescue him, but the Black Hand- YEARGHHAGAHAHAHAHAHA- HOT HOT GHAAAAAAHHHH!_

- GDI Sergeant Lucius, reporting on a Black Hand attack on a Chilean Space Port, just before being burned alive by a Purifier Warmech.

_"... Why is Kane determined to rebuild in Eastern Europe? What is his fascination with Sarajevo? Eastern Europe has been a focal point for Nod activity for decades and the reasons aren't completely clear ..."_

- Excerpt from the W3N special on Kane

**Chapter Seven: In the Line of Fire**

**GDI Battle Control:**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Rex watched as the Battle of Temple Prime began, half way across the world in Sarajevo, while he watched it unfold in real time, to observe and to make orders, to alert squads of ambushes if possible, and to issue orders as the battlefield changes.

The Mammoth Mark II walker that had arrived marched forward, and opened fire with its quad Rail Guns, blasting tank-sized dents into the Redeemer, which responded by blasting off one of the SAM rockets on the Mark II. Five Mammoth Tanks rolled up and a squadron of Orcas flew in, unleashing their payloads on the Redeemer.

Rex called in Shockwave Artillery on the Redeemer, the EMP powering it down. With this, the Mammoth Mark II finally blew its adversary apart. GDI soldiers cheered as the Redeemer collapsed and Nod forces fell back, terrified that their massive superweapon had been defeated by something that was officially mothballed into a junk yard (even if it had help).

XXX

**Sarajevo**

Brother Vasquez, a Nod militant hailing from Texas (or what was left of Texas) ran for his life, knowing that if he stayed, the Mammoth Mark II would destroy him. He knew the fear well, for his father had been a Nod infantryman during the Second Tiberium War under General Vega, and he knew the power of the Mammoth Mark II, told stories of it in it's prime… it was powerful enough that even now, it would be horrifyingly dangerous. The chin gun spat out murderous bullets, while it's quad Rail Gun array blew craters into the large groups of militants, its SAM rocket sites locking onto the Venom in the air.

"_Run for it!_" he shouted, "_Get to the Temple!_"

Militants left and right, armed and armored variously; some were armed with hunting rifles that couldn't scratch a Visceroid, others were carrying old First Tiberium War era assault rifles, some were lucky and had either a Second Tiberium War era rifle or even a First Tiberium War era chain gun, but the luckiest had (battered) GD-2 rifles stolen from GDI, salvaged from dead soldiers. Armor wise, they ranged from a poncho with the Nod symbol dyed onto it to sweat shirts and jeans, but the lucky ones had some form of armor, even just old First Tiberium War-era Kevlar. He was one of the lucky ones and had a salvaged set of GDI composite armor and a battered GD-2, both dyed to Nod's colors.

As he ran, he heard the screams of his brothers and sisters in arms as GDI Orcas and Firehawks began making strafing runs, blasting them with rockets and bombs, blowing entire squads up with just one hit. There were easily thousands of militants at Temple Prime…

_But if any of us survive,_ Vasquez realized, _we'll truly be part of the Brotherhood, maybe even welcomed to the Black Hand…_

An explosion happened far too close for his liking; _**IF**__ we survive…_

He watched as a group of 'Black Hand' soldiers tried to make a stand against a GDI Zone Trooper squad; a tactic that normally worked… except that these soldiers were not true Black Hand, they had been chosen from the best of the best of the militants, and granted the armor, as the real Black Hand was needed elsewhere… Vasquez couldn't help but feel… _Something is wrong… Kane's plan is falling apart… it us up to us to defend the Temple so it may succeed!_

XXX

**The Pentagon**

Rex watched 'overhead' (as the hologram of Battlefield Control always offered a bird's-eye-view) as Predator Tanks rolled up and traded salvos with Scorpion Tanks. Titans obliterated Flame Tanks. Pitbulls and APCs dueled with Attack Bikes and Raider Buggies, ground-based dogfights that encompassed the entire battlefield. Militants who were in a disorganized retreat and Riflemen got in close together, clubbing each other with the butts of their rifles, impaling each other with makeshift melee weapons, or shooting brutal point-blank shots, with the superior training and equipment of the GDI soldier becoming obvious. Zone Troopers blew the heads off of surprisingly weak Black Hand flame troopers with their Rail Guns, Zone Raiders jump jetting over the field and blowing the eardrums out of all-to-easily spotted Shadow Teams and Militants with ease. Firehawks and Venoms dueled in the skies, rattlesnake missiles and bullets flying in all directions. Mammoth Tanks dueled with scrappy, easily near-unsalvageable Avatars in slugging matches of who-has-bigger guns, and the Mark II Mammoth Walker cut a deep swathe in the Nod lines. GDI kept the push going. Finally, the outer wall of Temple Prime was visible to the GDI Ground Forces.

Rex looked at the defenses… Kane hadn't skimped on them at all, even if he only seemed to deploy Militants and scrap-heap equipment. Obelisks of Light, Laser Turrets, SAM Launchers, and Shredder turrets were in overlapping arcs of fire.

"This is too easy," Sarah said as GDI broke the lines and secured the top of all five ramps down to Temple Prime itself.

"Agreed," General Granger said, "Those units were far too weak to be the best Kane has here."

"The units may have been weak, but the defenses are strong as ever; looks like Kane repaired the Temple since the ZOCOM attack, the walls are brand new… the Temple's MCV must have been in overtime… now, where are those Juggernauts?" Rex muttered, looking over the map for his supposed-to-be arrived artillery walkers.

Juggernauts deployed from the GDI base, then moved onto the hills, and began to shell the defenses, blasting Nod forces apart as they tried to retaliate. GDI forces readied for the next push, consolidating their position. Nod forces dug in as best they could, but with limited training given to Militants, they could do little to prepare beyond what had been prepared.

The steel walls protecting the temple complex from GDI exploding, shards and metal bulkheads flying in all directions as the Juggernauts bombarded the temple. Nod soldiers tried to dodge, but there were so many fortifying that, if they were not killed by the Juggernauts' shells hitting the walls, it was the falling shrapnel.

The Juggernauts constant artillery barrages, after a half hour, finally managed to take down the outer Obelisks, SAM sites, and walls, despite the base's MCV working overtime in sending out new modules equipped to replace those lost structures.. Orcas flew into the now (relatively) safe skies and unleashed a torrent of rockets, which resembled blazing death to the Nod forces, then quickly returned to the GDI base set up outside of Temple Prime to re-arm and, due to some militants launching unguided rockets up, repair, before returning to blow more Nod units up.

"All units advance. Clear the first tier of the Temple." Rex ordered, receiving multiple affirmatives. Mammoth Tanks took point, firing their guns. Right behind them were Titans, and behind them were Predator Tanks. The Mammoths cut a swath through Nod's still damaged Avatar Warmechs and hordes of men and women, all shouting "In the Name of Kane" and whatever Nod rhetoric shouts these days. Wolverines mowed down the hordes of Militants that tried to stop the intrusion, showing why that quantity was useless unless there was quality to back it up.

XXX

**Temple Prime**

Vasquez, assigned now to man a bunker equipped with anti-tank cannons watched as his brothers and sisters in arms were mowed down by the Wolverines…

He aimed at the first one and fired, hitting the Wolverine square in the cockpit. The short walker buckled back, and as the smoke cleared, he realized he had only damaged it. Having reloaded, intending to destroy the next Wolverine, he simply switched to hitting that one again, with the same result. Several rounds from his bunker buddies later, the Wolverine exploded and was blown to shrapnel… but it was only the first.

"Men, focus out anti-tank rounds on one target, or GDI's armor will roll over us; in the name of Kane, follow my targeting."

He targeted one of the more aggressive Titans; the heavier walker was much tougher then the Wolverine, but his father had taught him the weakness of GDI's walkers: Stabilization. Aiming for one of the legs, he fired, and the other cannons in the group supported him, blowing one of the legs out with concentrated cannon fire. The first few hits didn't affect it, save for a slight limp, but each successive hit afterwards caused a greater lack of stabilization, and finally, it collapsed, crushing a GDI infantry squad as it came down and exploded, damaging the team of Wolverines nearby.

XXX

Sergeant McCarthy threw the now-empty clip, discarding it and inserting another clip into his GD-2 rifle; it was a long, bloody slog, but GDI's mechanized units were doing most of the work; the Infantry were securing the buildings. He was about to storm one of the war factories.

"Go, go, go!" he shouted as the timed C4 charge they set to blow the access trapdoor open exploded; leaping into the tunnel and rolling, they shot through the surprised militants guarding.

"HELP!" shouted one of the Nod technicians before a GDI round went through his skull, causing the technician to collapse. McCarthy looked over their handiwork; a mess of Nod soldiers, somewhat averted from blood due to GDI's accelerated bullets cauterizing the wounds.

"Alright, set the C4 on the MCT and let's get out of here." McCarthy ordered; they set their timed C4 charges (which were standard issue for GDI infantry), and ran like hell, knowing they only had about twenty seconds to get out of the way. Leaping out of the trap door, the last one out, the explosion rocketed through the Nod War Factory, destroying an in-progress Scorpion tank within and causing the facility to collapse upon itself.

"Sergeant McCarthy to command, target has been eliminated."

XXX

**The Pentagon**

"_**YOU'RE ON HOLY GROUND NOW, GDI!"**_ shouted a Militant who had somehow gotten their hands on a GDI transmitter, the transmission blaring through the whole GDI spectrum of combat frequencies.

"Kirce, cut that link off." Rex ordered, looking at the InOps officer monitoring GDI's EVA systems for the operation.

"Yes sir." Kirce said, adjusting something.

Sarah shook his head. "I still don't get why they serve Nod…"

"Oh, a lot of them are probably just raised that way… and some might have legitimate reasons to fight GDI." Rex said. "You know a lot better than me about corrupt GDI officials." The words almost stuck in his throat, _just raised that way…_ it made him think of the Clone Army; that _all_ of them were bred, out of tubes and science, cloned from a single man, to fight a war, with no choice in the matter… _OK, we had choice, but abandon our brothers? No…_

"Still… why do they have to fight GDI as a whole? We aren't all bad."

"Get enough Nod rhetoric blasted at you daily, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of it began to become sensible as truth." The elder Granger finally said. "That's how Nod runs it."

They watched as a GDI infantry squad; labeled as McCarthy's, blasted into the Nod science administration building and started clearing it while Mammoth Tanks obliterated Ion Disruption Towers.

McCarthy appeared on the map's receiver shortly after, looking fresh from a firefight.

"Sir," he saluted. "We've secured the Nod science facility. No signs of Liquid Tiberium research, but we've discovered that Kane has created Tiberium Infusion to give his soldiers immunity to Tiberium's effects. I don't know how it works, but the test data indicates that they needed to use 'recently acquired special DNA'. Can't tell heads from tails on it, sir so we wiped the databanks and transferred it all to ZOCOM and GDI High Command. Data should be uploading now to your Command Console." He glanced at his gun, then reloaded as he waiting for Rex's response.

"Understood, keep up the good work, Sergeant." Rex said, pulling up the newly-arrived file as McCarthy's image disappeared. "General, Lieutenant, take a look at it." He looked at it in surprise, almost horrified that it was being _done_.

"Sweet Jesus…" General Granger said, "They've gone the whole way. They've figured out how to fuse people with Tiberium in ways that strengthens them…"

"Look at the side note though… 'Does not promise stable molecular structure for extended periods of time'…" the younger Granger said, her face paling. "Good God…"

XXXX

**Sarajevo**

Vasquez cursed as the Mammoth Mark II blasted his bunker, the roof exploding and sending shrapnel into his body armor, which barely held. He was bleeding, and would need medical aid later on. _Fascist tyrants or not,_ he thought to himself as he looked at the damage to his armor, surprisingly minimal considering what hit it, _they make good armor._ He made a mental note; if he ever became an officer, he was going to lead a raid to acquire _how_ to make GDI composite armor and distribute it to his men, it would serve them well.

"_All Nod units, fall back to the final wall."_ Vasquez knew the voice; it was his commanding officer. If they were falling back… he shook the thoughts out of his head as he shot two GDI soldiers full of bullets, causing both to drop dead, bleeding out horribly.

"Whoa! Nice shot!" said one of the other militants, a local woman, equipped with old GDI Kevlar and a chain gun from the First Tiberium War.

"Thanks, I can't believe I got both of them!"

Suddenly, a burst of blue light flashed before his eyes, and the militant who had congratulated him mere seconds before was obliterated. Not looking back, he sprinted to the gate as it began to close… _I won't make it,_ he realized as it continued closing…

"I _will_ make it," he grunted, sprinting and leaping, just clearing the gate, and as he landed, he skidded, his armor protecting him from the fall as the pavement scrapped it to hell and back. His face, while protected by the salvaged GDI helmet, acquired several cuts.

XXXX

**Undisclosed Location**

Kane looked at the omniscreen. Things were going all according to plan. GDI was falling right into his trap, and soon, the next piece of his plan would fall into place.

He watched as his science ministers, their job complete, removed the Tiberium Injectors from Ahsoka's chest, right where her heart was. The health monitor showed a steady breath rate. Already, the scars from her treatment were fading, the wounds closing. Kane smiled, he was right yet again. His old, but wise minister (who always reminded Kane of his best, and probably most favorite, General; Anton Slavik, in both appearance and attitude) nodded after a checklist, and turned to Kane, or where he knew Kane was watching.

"She will be awake by the end of the day. We'll leave her here for GDI to find, as ordered." The Slavik-lookalike reported. "We are entering the Subterranean Transport now."

"Very well. You must hurry, before GDI falls into the trap. If they catch you… you know what to do."

XXXX

**Temple Prime**

**Sarajevo**

"Forward advance!" McCarthy shouted, shooting down another horde of Militants. A Grenadier Squad threw their grenades over, blowing one of the last Militant hordes to their deaths.

"Almost through… just a few more! Let's GO!"

The Mammoth Mark II began to blow down the walls of the interior Temple Prime as Grenadiers destroyed the second Ion Disruption Tower.

Fighting into the Tiberium Chemical Plant, they cleaned it out of the few guards left and searched the place. Taking the elevator down and clearing every room, they finally reached the one at the end.

Kicking it open, McCarthy and his squad rolled in, ready to open fire at a moment's notice.

"Sweet mother of God!" shouted one of his men. "It's the Lieutenant!"

"What?" McCarthy asked. "You gotta be fucking kidding me…"

But there was no way he could deny it: There, strapped to a surgical table and clearly unconscious, was Ahsoka Tano.

"We better call the Commander… I think he wants to hear this..."

He pulled out his communicator, but before he opened the link,

"and someone, please get her some clothes, it's distracting."

XXXX

**The Pentagon**

"Sergeant, Report." Rex said as McCarthy's hologram appeared on the map's receiver.

"We found her, sir."

"Who?" Rex asked, almost surprised. _Her?… wait, Ahsoka? I thought Kane moved her out of… surely he knew we were going to break in this time, why is he… or is this a bluff, a trick…_

McCarthy turned his communicator towards something in the back round, and there, in a hologram, was Ahsoka. _She looks so peaceful… like she was only asleep…_ Rex, unwittingly, let his jaw drop in surprise and how… uninjured she looked now.

"Evacuate her ASAP, Sergeant." General Granger said, glancing briefly at Rex, "Send her to ZOCOM Reclamation-Base Oh-A-A-Delta. The one in Munich, Germany."

The camera turned back to McCarthy, who saluted. "Yes sir." The transmission cut.

XXX

**Sarajevo**

"OK you heard the General, let's get her outta here." McCarthy ordered, "Keep her on the stretcher, Tinsworth, Joric, you carry her. Let's move."

Bringing her out, they walked right back into the fireworks, bullets and shells were exploding all around, but the main firefight was at the gates into the final tier of the Nod base.

As they moved back, he realized how GDI had gained the complete advantage: Save for Nod bullets in the final tier of the temple, GDI had complete control.

"This is Sergeant McCarthy calling for transport; my team recovered Lieutenant Tano from the Nod base; by all indications Nod forces have used experiments on her, requesting a transport to pick her up and bring her to ZOCOM base, code Oh-A-A-Delta."

"This is ox transport seven, stand by."

An Ox transport landed, and McCarthy nodded; Ahoska was loaded onto the transport, alongside a number of other wounded Steel Talon soldiers (including one from a Wolverine that had been hit with repeated anti-tank rounds), and took off. McCarthy watched as the transport left; then said to his squad, "Alright men, let's finish this."

XXX

**The Pentagon**

"Commander… you alright?" Sarah asked.

Rex looked up, realizing his hands were shaking.

"Yeah…" Rex said, his voice shaky. "I'll be fine. It's just… it doesn't make sense, it's like Kane wanted us to find her. I'm not complaining, but… I've seen some nasty stings done after someone lets you win too easily." He glanced at the battle as it unfolded, the Ox transport carrying Ahsoka leaving the airspace. "Alright, time to finish this."

XXX

"A weapon that can destroy zones, you say?" Boyle asked, intrigued.

"Yes sir," said his mole in the Steel Talon 21st Dragoon, currently assaulting Temple Prime; "Sergeant McCarthy recovered blueprints and even tests. We confirmed there's a prototype bomb located in a sealed compartment near Temple Prime itself; we can easily get it."

"Get it, soldier." Boyle ordered, "A prototype bomb of that bomb will allow us to destroy Nod if it dares poke it's head out, in a method that even the Ion Cannon cannot rival!"

"Yes sir; once we break the last tier of defenses, we'll be able to recover it and go."

"Very well, an Ion Cannon strike will be used to cover your escape."

"Yes sir."

The transmission cut, and he observed the fragments of data; THIS was a weapon he needed.

He then checked the InOps databank, and realized that there was a full new entry; he now had all he needed for a Liquid Tiberium Bomb, blueprint wise; it was all available and the log was being constantly updated by the engineers with the related materials…

He realized that his mole, while loyal to him, was only loyal to paycheck, and he knew that his enemies in GDI had enough money to discover Boyle's involvement… the mole was now no longer necessary, and needed to be removed.

XXX

GDI was now pounding the interior. Kane suddenly appeared on an Omniscreen in the room. He looked quite angry.

"Commander, if you _dare_ touch this most holy of places I will personally hunt you down and kill you like the _rodent_ you are…"

Rex looked up, and said, "Hey, Kane, did you forget to tell your followers that they'll be dead by morning, or in a GDI detention camp for the next few decades?"

Kane snarled, pressing a button. Near the primary Temple Prime building, a smaller 'temple' appeared.

"**Warning: Temple of Nod detected!" **EVA suddenly blared, referring to the designation Nod gave to their missile launch facilities, "Temples of Nod". GDI soldiers adopted it as parlance.

Boyle walked in, flanked by two guards, remaining silent. Ignoring him, Rex directed his troops forward, to pound the Nod Missile facility, located in one of the smaller Nod temple buildings.

The Mammoth Mark II, flanked by its current generation cousins, blasted the two Obelisks of Light that stood in the way apart, and obliterated the nuclear facility. Orcas and Firehawks, clear of any Anti-Air thanks to the assault, flew in and blew up the other two Obelisks. With the Obelisks gone, Predators rushed in, and afterwards Titans marched in and pounded the Nod construction Yard into obliteration and destroyed the last of the power plants. GDI destroyed the final Ion Disruption Tower, and it exploded. They turned their attention to Temple Prime.

"Sir," Sergeant McCarthy once more appeared in a hologram. "Our timing was damn well impeccable. We've found that Nod was in the final stages of assembling their Liquid Tiberium Bomb. Fortunately, we've secured the all components and are sending them to the nearest ZOCOM base; this is their area of expertise sir."

General Granger nodded, "Good work, Sergeant. Keep us informed of how things go."

"Thank you sir. Temple Prime itself is locked up tight, Kane and his Inner Circle are probably holed up deep inside. Hate to say it sir, but we have to sweat them out."

"He's right; the recon I've seen of that place says it's impenetrable. We'll starve Kane out. Begin establishing defenses, I want a tight network to keep Nod counter attacks out." General Granger glanced behind him a moment, at Boyle, then continued. "Sweep the area for surprises, Saboteurs are known to wire buildings with a lot of C4."

Boyle finally walked up and said, "Tell me, General. Our A-SAT defenses, they're back online, are they not?"

Granger stared at Boyle like he was the biggest idiot in history, "You're _not_ suggesting the Ion Cannon, are you?"

Boyle smiled, "No General, I'm not _suggesting_ it, I'm _**ordering**_ it."

"You realize, _sir_, we're talking about a facility where _Liquid Tiberium_ was being manufactured… An Ion Cannon blast could be _**disastrous**_ to the region. Sarah, get Dr. Gerould in Brazil. Dr. Gerould is our leading expert on Liquid Tiberium. Hopefully, he can talk you out of this."

Sarah nodded to her father, and went to the communications salon in the Battle Control room, quietly talking with Kirce. Boyle began to rock back and forth on his heels, like talking to a clueless child.

"General, this is a _Nod_ controlled Yellow Zone, whatever the repercussions of the Ion Cannon may be, my concerns are _**not**_ for the locals of this region. _My_ concerns are for our public! The _GDI Populace_ that has been promised **payback** for the Philadelphia."

Granger scowled, gritting his teeth and almost snarling his words,

"For _**God's SAKE**_ man don't make this a bunch of fucking, immoral, _political credibility! We have a _war_ to win, and we can't afford to play _**politics!**"

"Excuse me General," Sarah chimed in, "but Dr. Gerould is missing, and seems to of been captured by Nod."

Granger looked up, a silent sigh.

"Well, that settles it." Boyle said, as if he had just gotten past a worthless delay, "Commander, I want you to end this, once and for all. When the Ion Cannon is ready, fire at will!"

Rex wished he had his helmet on. A minute passed in silence. Finally, Rex said, delicately as possible, but keeping a thin hint of his anger in his words,

"Director, please leave, I need to coordinate with all our forces so we can prepare for any repercussions that… _affect_ those who we… don't want affected. For example, our soldiers."

"Commander… time is ticking, but very well, make preparations. I will have the Ion Cannon moved into geosynchronous orbit for you." Boyle said, nodding, and then leaving.

"God damn it… that man is going to be the death of us all…" General Granger snarled.

"Come on, we gotta make sure that we can at least minimize the damage caused by his idiocy. Get the civilians out of the cities in the expected blast zone; tell them that we've got problems at the top, think of anything, glitch in the Ion Cannon, Kane preparing a thousand ton thermo nuke as a last act of terrorism, just something to get people clear. EVA, get me in contact with all the local leaders that we have contact with, tell them to either get the hell out of Eastern Europe or into Storm Shelters."

"**Cannot Comply, Director Boyle has ordered the Ion Cannon to be fired before any non-GDI forces can leave, regardless of consequences."**

"Damn I hate AI…" Rex muttered, punching up holograms of people he was going to contact. "Sergeant McCarthy, Lieutenant Stevenson, get the men ready to go. Get a man to the nearest Storm Shelter warning station and set off a warning in the cities, then get people over there to help them out."

"Sir, what's going on?" McCarthy asked.

"Boyle decided to order an Ion Cannon strike, no matter what it could potentially do."

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted." Granger said before Rex could respond.

"What the _fuck_ is that idiot doing? We tried the Ion Cannon two Tiberium Wars ago, didn't exactly work in killing Kane. And from what I know of Tib, you blow it up, it blows you up! And this place reeks of the stuff!"

"He's being a politician. Lieutenant Granger," Rex turned to her, "We need to get a ZOCOM team together, I want as many vehicles for civilian evacuation as possible. I'll see what I can get from General Mitchell."

GDI forces began to evacuate, and overhead, the Ion Cannon moved dangerously close to geosynchronous orbit… Fifty Minutes until it was there, as it had been knocked far out without A-SAT guidance. As he observed over the next ten minutes, Rex was mystified by a group of GDI soldiers stationing something, a transport nearby… he attempted contact, but an Ion Storm, a very small one, was forming… and it was too late to warn them.

Most GDI forces were flying away. Rex unmagnified the map a few dozen times, bringing all of Eastern Europe up. Ion Storm warnings were going all over and people were, from all reports, taking cover in Storm Shelters… but there weren't enough, and many were forced to take cover in the local tunnel network. The Ion Cannon reached geosynchronous orbit as GDI forces left the blast range predicted from a Liquid Tiberium Bomb as the hour was ending… at not all the GDI forces were clear of the expected blast zone.

"Commander. Press the Button." Boyle's voice came over the intercom, and he appeared on one of the many Omniscreens in Battle Control. GDI transports immediately touched down at the GDI Croatia base if they were close enough, or tried to get to a place where they could land.

XXX

**Field Command Post**

**Australian Outback**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Nod Agent Ajay cocked his pistol, a stolen GDI _Falcon_, much like the one used by commandos such as Nick Seymour "Havoc" Parker, he glanced up at his commander, the Legendary Insurgent. He was angry, "After her lil' stunt in Sarajevo, I'd say Kilian ain't worth the bullets to save her." In the distance, dull thuds of artillery, including the new Nod _Specter_-class stealth artillery, thundered occasionally. The fighting was beginning to subside in the area as he continued, standing and walking to his desk, "But hey, I'm not gonna start second-guessing Kane like she does, nope." As he reached the chair, he looked at his commander, "Because if there's one thing I learned from you," he felt confidence as what he had learned really flashed before him, "is that a good soldier follows orders." He folded his hands behind his back as he looked at her; "Right?"

XXX

**Sarajevo**

Vasquez looked in horror as he, having been forced to retreat to a look-out post over the last hour, had, looking back as he went, watched as GDI soldiers began evacuating, taking _Nod's Tiberium equipment and relics!_ When he arrived, he muttered as he readied his transmitter; setting it up like a camera. Leaning on the edge, he watched; the remaining _Specter_ artillery pieces, older prototypes that had been reactivated in a vain hope they'd stop GDI, began launching what they had left; flare-equipped shells that were not full powered, and were supposed to be to test trajectory aim. He pointed at the man now operating the camera,

"OK… are… are we rolling? OK…" he glanced over, to re-affirm his knowledge, "I'm outside Temple Prime and the news here is _terrible_, Kane's plan has_** failed**_, we can see GDI soldiers _stealing_ our Tiberium weapon! Just an hour ago, there was a raid on the temple; shots were fired, and GDI destroyed most of the temple," he ducked as the last of the arty pieces were destroyed by a Steel Talon orbital strike, the slug blowing the specters apart and reducing the long-range offensive ability to rubble.

"So far, there's been no sign of Kane," an Ion Storm had formed, he could hear the lightning strikes, we fear me may be _trapped_ _**inside**_** the Temple!**" suddenly he heard something on his earpiece… he was shocked; the sheer fear built inside him, he felt it crash upon his face like a tide; he stood up, "I… I'm getting word right now… that… GDI has moved an Ion Cannon into position!"

He looked up, and saw the Ion Cannon in orbit; a small spec to him, but he knew that soon, that small spec would destroy the Temple, and, if the blast was large enough, take out the outpost which was overlooking the Temple from behind, and was close, despite the hours trek up the path that wound through a naturally forming Tiberium Glacier (which was somehow sterile radiation wise, a sign that humanity would inherit the glories of a Tiberium world).

He began to pray, citing works by Brother Marcion of the Black Hand, "Let the Earth be transform… let all those who believe the power of Tiberium be transformed with it… let the Earth be transformed… IN THE NAME OF KANE!" he shouted defiantly as the Ion Cannon began it's firing sequence, "IN THE NAME! OF! _**KANE!**_"

XXXX

**The Pentagon**

Rex sighed, hating himself for what he had to do. _Fucking politicians._ His finger touched the button…

The screen switched to the Ion Cannon… 8 beams sped down to earth, circling up… and one massive blast rode down…

A massive green mushroom cloud, covering _all_ of Eastern Europe erupted… and fell… The Ion Cannon was pushed out of Geosynchronous orbit by a massive wave of energy floating up towards it…

XXXXX

**Eastern Europe, GDI Forward Base**

**Croatia**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

**Now Red Zone R-1**

McCarthy cursed as his transport skidding to a stop a mile away from the base.

"Let's MOVE IT! Get into something shielded, _LET'S GO!"_

GDI soldiers rushed into anything that would provide cover. Pitbull ATV's, Guardian APC's, Predator Tanks, even a Mammoth Tank that was barely intact.

"GDI Command, this is Sergeant McCarthy, what the _fuck_ happened?"

Static was his response.

"This is GDI Forward Base Alpha to all GDI forces, make for the base as soon as possible, or deploy beacons and wait for pickup. We're at full stretch…"

Sergeant McCarthy swallowed. Something had gone wrong.

Terribly wrong.

And he had a feeling Boyle was behind it. He knew Rex. Rex was dependable, a soldier's soldier, as was the General. They stepped up and answered their failures as a soldier can. If Rex had to push it, and he knew that may of happened, he would of fought to give them as much time to escape as he could, and that was what he _did_.

No… the blame was on Boyle._ He's lucky I'm not a sniper…_

**XXXXX**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Rex punched the metal pillar again, cursing. How had he been so stupid? Why did he follow such an obviously corrupt order? Was he really that blind? Was he really that spineless, to not obey such an obviously blatant order? Sure, he fought for time, but was that really enough to justify?

"Commander, what the hell are you doing?" Sarah shouted, surprised.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" he shouted back, before knocking his head against it.

"Commander, _calm down,_ you're going to hurt yourself!" shouted the elder Granger… almost horrified.

"Yeah, say that to all those I just killed!" Rex retorted.

"Commander… I can take over from here… take the rest of the day off…"

Rex punched the pillar again, his hands bleeding and knucklebones broken most likely, and stormed out.

XXXX

**Field Command Post**

**Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ajay looked in horror as the feed from Temple Prime cut; "NO!" he shouted, "It _can't be!_"

"Ajay!" the Insurgent shouted, rushing forward and grabbing him before he grabbed his pistol; she knew what he was going to do: go out there with his pop-gun pistol and attack GDI head on, like so many of their grunt militants did; she couldn't let Ajay do that…

"_Damn it_ Commander, let. me. AT. G… D… I!" he shouted, punctuating the acronym with force.

"We'll get our revenge," she said, "But if we're going to bring judgment down on GDI, I need you to help coordinate it."

Ajay paused, but still seemed ready to struggle.

"I'm ordering you, Ajay." She said; and he sighed, sitting down.

She nodded, "Get me every soldier in our group; we're going to destroy the GDI outpost near here."

Ajay nodded; they didn't originally intend to take it out on their rescue mission for Kilian, but now, they had a score to settle.

"Brothers, sisters." The Insurgent began once Ajay gave her the cue, "Temple Prime has suffered a grievous attack; our losses were high, but GDI has only dug their own grave." She could hear the passion and strength in her voice; a trait that she had pointed out early in her life, "The GDI outpost nearby will be destroyed; this is revenge for all our fallen brothers and sisters in arms, I should not have to say this, but in this case, I will: Anyone who shows undue mercy to GDI will be shot; we must make GDI suffer for their arrogance and gall to attack us once more, and to desecrate our holy sites. Capture them if you will, but do _not_ be gentle. If you kill them, kill them as painfully as you can make it. The Brotherhood of Nod shall _not_ be defied, it shall _not_ be intimidated, and it will _not_ leave its people _un-avenged_."

XXXXX

**The Next Day…**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka woke up, once more in a GDI base, and she was in a smaller, officer quarters. But instead of the GDI eagle… there was a different symbol. That of an eagle transforming into a phoenix, with lighting bolts in each claw.

"Where am I?" Ahsoka asked, glancing around.

The door opened, and a man in a ZOCOM uniform walked in. He paused a moment, though he tried to obscure his face, Ahsoka could tell a bit of surprise or disgust. She couldn't quite tell yet.

"Lieutenant, I see you're up. How are you feeling? The doctors will want to talk with you before we clear you to leave the building."

"Fine…" Ahsoka said slowly, as if unsure, confused, "Just tired… what happened?"

"Well… you were captured by Nod and as far as we can tell, they did _something_, but we can't find anything. We found that they drugged you to keep you asleep, but apparently it only lasted a day, which we took to get you over here."

Ahsoka nodded. "I'll be out in a while… Some real sleep might do me some good…"

The officer chuckled… but it was hollow… like he was just trying to be polite at a joke.

Ahsoka glanced around, searching her room, and found several ZOCOM listening and recording devices. Disabling each of them, but having them to still transmit her sleeping; she sat down next to the bed. She noticed a small, portable GDI standard issue transmitter, used for both catching news and reporting to superiors. She turned it on and set the channel to the most recent news story, W3N station, the one sponsored by GDI (for better or worse).

The recording on an Ion Cannon blast lancing down into a ground base target was shown, followed by a massive, mushroom cloud of green color. _Tiberium_ green.

William Frank then appeared, the subtitle saying "Millions Fear Dead in Eastern Europe". At the top right hand corner was a dark, cloudy, Ion-Storm back round with the chemical symbol for Tiberium, three green hexagons, scattered throughout the picture. In a dark, almost horrified tone, William began to report, as if swallowing the whole time.

"Although Kane, and much of his Inner Circle are believed to of been killed… the explosion also detonated a liquid Tiberium deposit hidden beneath the temple itself, producing deadly fallout… and radiation levels… over almost all of Eastern Europe. It's still unclear at this time if this really was an accident, or a final act of terrorism, by Kane. So far, the only authorized response from GDI, has been this statement, from Acting-Director Boyle."

The screen cut to Boyle walking next to what looked to Ahsoka like one of the GDI Treasury posts, flanked by GDI InOps agents and soldiers who were keeping the reporters back as needed.

"All those innocent lives lost…" Boyle said, in a tone that suggested deep regret, "It's just unthinkable. But if there is any silver lining to this terrible tragedy, is the fact that Kane's _region of __**terror**_ has ended. And for _that_, I think we all should be eternally grateful."

Then he walked away, reporters trying to get more statements from him, but the InOps agents stopped any of that.

Ahsoka re-watched it, unbelieving of what just happened. _There's no way that Boyle could have been _that _stupid… is there?_

The door opened suddenly, and Ahsoka stood up.

Rex walked in… but he looked… different. Like he had far too much to drink… and he rarely drank a lot.

"Rex… what's wrong?" Ahsoka asked, almost afraid.

"I…" Rex stuttered a few times, as if he still couldn't comprehend what had happened.

Ahsoka could feel it though… guilt… shame… anger… _Oh no… oh no oh no no no…_

Rex suddenly reached forward and wrapped his arms around her, tears streaking down his cheeks.

At the doorway, silent, was Lieutenant Sarah Granger, suited up in her Raider armor, sans helmet. She gave Ahsoka a glance, and nodded, shutting the door. The lock clicked shut.

"Rex… are you alright?"

"No, I'm not." Rex answered. "And I shouldn't be…"

XXXXX

Sarah walked into the base's so-called "Casual Lounge", and the TV, which was reporting on the disaster, suddenly switch to a Nod channel; like it was hacked… but Kane had been obliterated, there was no way he could keep hacking…

But it was not Kane; Sarah leaned on a pillar as she watched; she recognized the Nod general, Kilian. It was clear that it was a poorly done hack-job, and was possibly only meant for Nod.

"Wow, looks a bit like you ma'am," said one of the soldiers, before shutting up, realizing what he just said;

"That's alright, Timothy." She answered, focusing on the speech now being given by Kilian forcibly to the world;

"Children of Nod," Kilian said sorrowfully as she walked towards the camera, "I bring grave news. As many of you know, we were building a Liquid Tiberium weapon, at our Temple Prime, in hopes of ending this awful war," she put her hand on a pillar, a single tear coming from her eyes as she looked down, shaking her head; she rose her head, looking at the camera and putting her hands behind her back, taking steps forward, "Those hopes were killed, along with our leader Kane when GDI, again showing their evil to the world, destroyed our most holy site, killing all within mercilessly."

A few more tears came out in a barely controlled away, but it was slow, as if the greatest blow in the universe had hit the most stoic woman in the universe, "We do not have all the details yet, but it appears the Ion Cannon blast set off a liquid Tiberium explosion beneath the temple. The damage caused by GDI's tyrannical assault, casualties in millions, civilian deaths in billions," she paused, looking at a screen, and indeed, the camera followed, and it showed the image of the very real Ion Cannon satellite striking down to Earth, and the mushroom cloud of a Liquid Tiberium Bomb exploding followed. It was clear, no one could deny that GDI was, intentionally or not, responsible for the Ion Cannon strike and it's aftereffects; any deaths by that strike was stained on GDI's hands, like blood that would never be removed.

"No one can replace Kane," Kilian continued, "But it is now my duty, my _blood oath_, to lead our Brotherhood through this trying time, to preserve its ideals, to protect those who GDI oppresses. I say there is no time for mourning. We must turn our _grief_ into _anger_ and leave the past behind us. We must put all talk of _Ascension_ aside, our only goal should be to liberate this planet, one continent at a time."

The words sent a chill down Sarah's spine; truth or lies, this woman could inspire people, and could, even if it was a stretching the truth to horrendously false lengths, make it sound _real_.

Kilian continued, "Tiberium is our _divine birthright_, those who embrace it, will _inherit the Earth_. Those who **defile** it will feel our fury. Follow me, my children, and I will lead us to victory, against GDI."

The interruption ended and the soldiers were silent.

"OK," Sarah said, "Tell me I'm the only one who was chilled out by that."

They shook their heads; it was worrying that Kilian could, while certainly not being Kane, could still send chills down GDI's collective spine…

"What do you think, ma'am?" asked Corporal Timothy.

"We continue as planned; if Nod attacks us in the Red Zone, we send W3N the footage of Nod attacking our relief efforts. I assume we're all still committed to our rescue mission, even if the table changed with the L-T explosion?"

There was a chorus of agreement. GDI, even battered and bloodied, cursed and reviled by many for the millions of deaths that must have followed the explosion, would still fight for it's ideals, and it's commitments.

XXXXX

**Somewhere near Saturn…**

He opened his eyelid, and a pale-green symbol appeared in front; it blinked and lead to a list of more symbols; he groggily selected one, and an image of the galaxy appeared, still swirling; there was a pulse, obviously for his visual aid, under the galactic disc. The screen focuses there, and he caught view of a deep orange star, and in front, several planets, an asteroid belt… and in the forefront to the side, a gaseous planet with rings. The image launched forward, passing an even greater gas giant and focused in on a planet, orbited by a single moon. This was the route his Mothership would travel; he assumed he was near the planet with rings at that point.

The ship, bringing up the logs of what occurred while he was in hibernation the last two months, brought up a hologram of what seemed to be a space station, and an image of a female belonging to a mammalian species he did not immediately recognize saying words he did not understand, the image fuzzy; "… allocation from defense, to ecology, as the eradication of Tiberium is now seen as a more pressing concern, then the containment…" the image faded, and more symbols appeared. He finally recognized the symbols, consciously able to read them as his mind was restored fully:

**Language Assimilation Complete.**

"_**Welcome back, Foremen."**_Said a female voice that he recognized, and on the ship's computer he was viewing, it read: _Foreman 371 awakened from stasis._ His Mothership's AI continued in the chillingly calm fashion that Foreman 371 loved.

"_**Ichor LQ detonation detected on Relay-Sensitive planet. Initiating harvesting procedures. Course change completed, and on planetary approach."**_

"_**Tactical Analysis: In the last two months since you slept, we have found the indigenous civilization highly unstable. Ichor LQ detonation, and a complete self destruct in progress."**_

He felt a sudden surge; and now they were past the asteroid belt, the hints of a previous transmission collected by the Mothership played, "…The Destruction of the Philadelphia was not an accident…"

"_**Primary Ichor concentrations identified; coordinates locked. Reaper and Traveler Subsects report readiness. All units report readiness. Deployment sequence initiating now. All transport units launched, and proceding at speed. Estimated Time of Arrival: Two Target-Planet Rotations."**_

XXXXX

**Author's Notes:**

A far shorter chapter, but this warranted it I think. I'm aware that originally the attack on Temple Prime was far tougher, but I realized writing, even Kane isn't dumb enough to waste elite troops that he knows he'll need later on (even with the Marked of Kane on stand-by for LEGION) on a suicide mission like that, hence why it was all militants and scraps of advanced units.

I added the first half of the Scrin intro; I thought it'd be a good taste. The trick was to bend it to fit time right; I assume the Scrin have Faster-Than-Light drives or something. There's a few days between the Temple Prime detonation and the Scrin invasion, about... 3 or 4, if I recall right.


	8. Chapter 8: The Sleeping Beast

_You know… Rex is probably one of GDI's most honorable soldiers. If it weren't for the fact he'd probably never get to fight alongside us, I'd suggest that he become the Director instead of that idiot Boyle._

- Titan Pilot Tex, to her fellow Titan pilot (and boyfriend) Wagner, on recent events, inside a destroyed Mammoth Tank after crash landing nearby.

**Chapter 8: The Sleeping Beast**

**GDI Forward Base**

**Croatia**

**Red Zone R-1**

"Sergeant McCarthy, are you alright?" shouted a GDI Zone Trooper as he rushed over to the crashed Ox transports.

"I'll be fine, Trooper! You got something shielded to transport us?" McCarthy shouted back.

"Got APCs on the way, hold tight!"

The APC's drove up and opened their ramp. GDI's soldiers rushed over, trying to get in. They didn't bother with squad order, they got themselves into something. With all the radiation now in the air, they couldn't take chances. _Damn luck that our helmets are self sealed… not that it does any good against Tiberium…_

The APCs, with as many GDI soldiers as they could cram in aboard, rushed to the base, and dropped them off. Troops in ZOCOM Tiberium Field Suits and Zone Armor were rushing around, getting civilians and soldiers alike into fallout cover.

"Stevenson, your ConYard still intact enough to recover and use?" a soldier shouted.

"No, its wreckage is a klick back! Utterly wrecked except for the crew compartment!"

"Damn it, we need more housing… can't fit everyone here!"

"I'm sure we got help coming… just gotta hold on…" McCarthy muttered.

XXXX

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Damn it General, we don't have the resources to waste on rescuing Kane's little loyalists." Boyle shouted.

"We got soldiers and civilians alike trapped down there and you're telling me to _stand down_ with the aid? You're telling me that we should forget the very _mandate_ that created GDI? To preserve freedom and fight terrorism, to _**protect the innocent**_! You're telling me, here and now, you blowing away our very foundation, our _honor_, just because it's going to cost a credit too much to uphold it?" Granger shouted, slamming his fist into the deck, looking ready to punch Boyle's head off.

"General… you must understand that the treasury was _sapped dry_ by the demands for the war, demands that _you_ placed to ensure our victory. Now the war is over, it needs time to _recover_ so we can combat Tiberium… there's a Council Meeting in 24 hours. I expect you to be there. I hope I've… made myself clear." Boyle turned and left, his two bodyguards following in suit.

Granger slammed his fist on the table again, cursing. "Sandra, get me the New Eden ZOCOM base."

Sandra nodded, and pressed a number of buttons.

"This is New Eden Command, how can I help you General?" responded an officer.

"I need you to step up the Red-Evac op. We got civilians by the city and soldiers by the Ox that need rescuing and Boyle won't commit anything to help." Granger explained.

"I presume you'll want Commander Rex and Lieutenant Tano along as well, given it's their strike force down there?"

"If they're able to."

"Very well."

Sarah then walked up, and explained. "Sorry, but Rex is going… to need time. I think events have had an effect on him."

"How's he doing, and is there anything we can do to help?"

"I'm not sure, I left him with the Lieutenant… they're family ya'know… anyways, General Renteria gave me orders to take an MCV and we're heading down there ASAP to start with evac procedures, as planned."

"Good… thank you. I'll inform Boyle that you're trying to set up a Reclamation Operations Center or something akin to that. Boyle can't block that as long as General Renteria approves; if she's given you an MCV to deploy there already, then I think she will."

The younger Granger nodded, and the transmission cut.

**XXXX**

**ZOCOM Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

"I want as many Tiberium Field Suits as we can grab brought along, we need to get everyone we can into something that's shielded against Tiberium," Sarah was walking down the hall, talking with officers who were recently assigned to assist her in the operation. Because she was put in direct command of the mission, she had the responsibility to make sure everything went well. "Get as many Zone units and Forgotten soldiers as you can find, the fewer Field Suits we need to use for our own task force, the more we can get to those who need them to evacuate."

"We aren't gonna be able to secure a lot, ma'am, Boyle's blocking us again because of our failures at Sarajevo and Africa…" one of the officer's said, reading one of GDI's transmitters. He says that our funding is "being redirected to repairing the Blue Zones and that we can 'expect full funding after reconstruction'…"

"That man's gonna be the death of humanity… alright, we make due with what we can get."

"Is Commander Rex coming along?" one of the officers asked.

She hesitated… then, "No… Boyle's forcing him to fire the Ion Cannon had an effect on him… come on, we gotta move before it's too late."

XXXXX

**Field Command Post**

**Australian Outback**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"I don't believe this," Ajay said, after rewatching Kilian's announcement. "I grew up near here… Yeah, I don't care _what_ Kilian says, _**Kane is not dead!**_" he stated such with such force, such deadpan determination; he knew he probably surprised his commander. "He's too smart, he wouldn't let that happen." He felt confusion and the grief build up some more; "There's no way he'd bail on us like that… _just __**no**__ way!_" the last words came out like a grieving shout.

He sighed, and the Insurgent said, "We'll just have to stay faithful; GDI claimed they killed him twice; both times he survived, we just have to be patient."

"I know," Ajay said, then sighed, "You hear about Kilian's new plan?"

"No, I was in the field if she sent them out." The Insurgent answered.

"She wants to steal GDI's leftover nukes, 'level the playing field'. And she called _Kane_ to aggressive…" Ajay almost spat, "What a **joke**."

He sighed again, pulling a folder up, "And look at this." He flipped it open, giving it a look, then handed it to the Insurgent; "Kilian just put out her first high directive. She wants all Nod military personnel _**in Australia**_, it's our last stand."

The Insurgent read it through, and handed it back. "Well, I guess we have no choice," Ajay said angrily, "orders an order," he slammed the folder down, "But man it sure takes out the fun of bein' Nod."

XXXXX

**New Eden Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka pulled out the metal parts she had scrounged up, and got to work. With Temple Prime destroyed and her lightsaber presumably with it, she needed to build a new one. She set to work; normally assembling a lightsaber would have taken much more time, to build usually, but she knew very well, both from studying GDI's texts on Nod and from common opinion that Nod was far from dead, and they needed to finish them off soon; Ahsoka knew General Mitchell would want her on the field. As such, she put some additional speed into the effort; the lightsaber wouldn't be really 'hers', normally a Jedi spent time with the crystal they were using to attune it better to the user, but the Clone Wars had often forced them to make them within a day with the right parts; that was what she was doing. She spent most of the day doing so.

Rex was in the bed, looking into space, or so it looked. She knew very well what was going on with him. He was distraught, confused… probably hating himself for firing the Ion Cannon.

_I've done all I can to help him… he needs time to recover… something to take his mind off of it._

She wondered for a moment if she should consider getting Rex to try working on a lightsaber… _No._ she decided, _It'd only be a bludgeon for him… and he'd probably hurt himself trying to learn how to use it._

XXX

**GDI Spy Satellite **_**Phoenix**_

**Earth Orbit**

"Hey, Lydia, what's that?" asked one of the crewman on the satellite.

"I'm not sure," Lydia answered, "But I'm seeing something on asteroid belt."

"What? Lemme look…" he looked, and blinked, "What the hell is that?"

"I dunno… We won't find out 'till they're closer."

"Let's keep an eye on those…"

XXX

**GDI Forward Base**

**Croatia**

**Red Zone R-1**

McCarthy, suited up in a battered, barely patched up suit of Zone Armor, coughed as some of the radiation, the briefest hint, bypassed his suit. He pushed the pillar, and found another dead family; it was hard to tell, considering the Tiberium radiation would instantly turn someone to dust once they died, absorbing whatever nutrients it needed out of a dead body, but he could, by the looks of the clothing, discern it was easily a wedded couple and a young child; maybe even a baby.

He felt his stomach churn again; this was way beyond him. The sheer apathy for people, and the suffering of the innocent, needed to be _willing_ to detonate a bomb that not only blew up or caused the deaths of half of a GDI strike force, either through Tiberium Radiation or, in the case of a small group of idiots who mysteriously decided to stay, blew them up directly, but also probably wiped out over three-fourths, if not almost all, of Eastern Europe's population… the sheer cruelty or just lack of care required was mind boggling. He coughed again, and limped out; the APC, damaged and smoking, but still working, was waiting for him; he climbed in and told the driver, "No one in there, all dead."

"Damn it," the driver said before driving to the next recon point. McCarthy opened the APC's emergency supplies and pulled out a shot; taking an armor plate off and injecting it into his thigh, the partial antidote to Tiberium poisoning quickly took effect; it was not a proper medical procedure to remove Tiberium poisoning, but it would keep him alive until then.

**XXXX**

**New Eden Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

As she put the finishing touch in assembling the lightsaber, she felt something outside… anger and hostility... Battle.

Opening her door, she glanced around, and walked down to the window.

And then she saw it: Sarah was locked in a melee fight, hand to hand, with a Zone Trooper. And it wasn't any training fight… it was serious. MP's were swarming in with their riot gear, but their armor was no match for the strength enhancements of the Zone armor, most of the strikes on the MP's seeming to be accidental,

Pushing the window open, she leapt out, landing gracefully on the roof, and slid down. Dropping silently onto the ground, she tapped one of the riflemen on the shoulder.

"What the heck is going on?"

"The Trooper is counteracting the Lieutenant's orders about suiting up for a Red Zone op… a search and rescue. He said something about Boyle directly forbidding it and he'd stop her… she said she wouldn't cease the operation… the trooper tried to shoot her with his Rail Gun… it was a downward spiral from there."

"What?" Ahsoka gasped, pushing the crowd aside and rushing in.

One of the MP's saw her and breathed a sigh of relief… "Oh good… her…" and then fainted. Sarah and a random Trooper were both pushed back, taking a second to recover. Taking advantage of that moment, Ahsoka rushed into the middle, standing right between them. They charged for each other again, not noticing her.

"Break, it, UP!" Ahsoka shouted, focusing herself, and shoving the two in opposite directions… but not with her hands. Because Ahsoka was trained as a Jedi to use the Force, and although it wasn't as strong on Earth, because of more mind-boggling things than any GDI Scientist would even both trying to figure out, Tiberium's radiation, even if subdued by refinement, allowed Ahsoka to use her Force training to create very similar effects, so even if Earth wasn't that open Force-wise, she still had _something_ to use.

As if a giant, fifty megaton war hammer hit them in the chest, Sarah and the Trooper went flying back in opposite directions, the Trooper slamming into the base's gate (and leaving a oversized man-shaped dent in it), and Sarah crashed into the main complex, leaving a graceful dent in the wall. The two collapsed.

Ahsoka was surprised at how much force she had applied… in most Blue Zones, she would have been hard pressed to stop two people in power armor at once… especially in opposite directions. It was as if someone had amplified her abilities tenfold.

"Holy CRAP… that's a new one!" shouted one of the Zone Raiders on the sidelines.

"Damn… I almost want to get mutated if we get to do _THAT!_" one of the soldiers commented.

"No, you don't." Ahsoka said, subtly applying force to the soldier's mind, cautiously, to test to see if the old Mind Trick worked, and also for the soldier's own good; _Tiberium radiation is not something to play around with, after all._

"Yeah… I don't." the soldier then said. "Too much Tib and I don't like glowing green… gets you shot, ya'know?"

The Trooper got back up and reached for his Rail Gun… but Ahsoka shoved him into the wall again, and pulled the Rail Gun towards herself. Sarah also was reaching for her Grenade Launcher, but Ahsoka pulled that away too.

"What the _heck_ are you two doing?" Ahsoka shouted.

"That slutty bitch over there is trying to circumvent orders from Director Boyle!" the Trooper shouted.

"That Neanderthal tried to shoot me!"

Ahsoka sighed.

"Alright… who saw this whole mess from the beginning…"

"I did, Ma'am." A soldier walked up.

"Name?" Ahsoka asked.

"Staff Sergeant Arnold P. Coddington, Ma'am. I was walkin' out the barracks door, heading to the infirmary to get something for a headache I've been having the last couple days, when I saw the Lieutenant walk out with a couple other officers. They were discussing some mission or that. The Trooper, also a Lieutenant, walked up and asked what they were talking about. They explained they were preparing for a ZOCOM op in Croatia. The Trooper said Boyle had directly ordered no refugee aid, and that setting up a Reclamation base was just a cover, and when the Raider said it was to establish a Reclamation base, the Trooper called it a lie and pulled his Rail Gun out. At that point, the good Lieutenant jump-jetted into him, knocking him over and knocking the rail gun out of his hands. After that, they started fist fighting at that point… then you showed up and broke it up."

Ahsoka nodded. "Anyone else?"

A few hands raised, but they all had very similar stories.

"Bah, she doesn't even have authority in this matter, the three of us are Lieutenants… though given she's a shiner, she probably ranks as less." The Trooper muttered.

Ahsoka turned her head to him, clearly hearing him.

One of the MP's woke up…

"OK… eh… what happened?" The MP muttered.

"The good Lieutenant," Coddington gestured Ahsoka, "is trying to mediate the situation, but the Trooper won't accept it, citing their same rank… and his bias towards mutants."

The MP nodded. "Right…" he looked at Sarah and the Trooper, "put the two in lockdown for a couple… I'll get the court Martial stuff worded out as needed… someone else put 'em in lockdown, my head's aching too much to try…"

Sarah nodded. "I'll go quietly… Lieutenant… you'll have to take my duty for the operation then."

Ahsoka nodded. "I'll keep it going until this mess is cleared up."

"Why should she go? She's a witness and since she joined in, you can court martial her too!" the Trooper shouted as a trio of Zone Troopers stripped him of his armor, revealing the standard issue uniform that Troopers wore underneath their armor. They cuffed him. A pair of Raiders also helped Sarah out of her armor, revealing again, a standard issue uniform, similar to the Riflemen uniforms, and gently cuffed by an MP… though the MP looked like he'd rather be cuffing the Trooper.

Ahsoka sighed, then the officers that Sarah had been talking to walked up to her and filled her in.

"Well, we'd better hurry, before Boyle catches wind of this." Ahsoka said to the other officers after getting the update.

"We'll be set to go tomorrow morning." One of them said. "We weren't exactly unprepared for this. The mission _will_ go on, come hell or high water."

XXXXX

**GDI Council Meeting**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Now, with the war over, we need to reevaluate the budget and revise our policies." Boyle began, "We need to show the populace that even with Kane gone, GDI will not fall into the trap that claimed the Philadelphia."

"We can start by actually following our mandate…" Granger muttered under his breath to the two general next to him. General C. Elena Renteria, and General Joshua "Mitch" Mitchell, of Zone Operations Command and the Steel Talons respectively.

"I still don't get how Boyle got the job… should have been you Jack." Mitchell muttered back.

"I still don't get why he's so worried about his public… there won't be one if we don't actually stop Tiberium." Renteria muttered as well. "I actually agree with Mitchell here… you'd of made a better director."

"Look, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but it's our succession protocol." Granger said, quieting them as an aide hurried up to Boyle and whispered something in his ear.

"GENERAL GRANGER!" Boyle shouted, "What is the meaning of this? I'm told that you've authorized refugee aid when directly order not to approve such!"

"What-?" Mitchell began, but was cut off by Boyle,

"I have word that your daughter was organizing an unauthorized mission to bring refugee aid to the Croatian area. I ordered that no GDI units be sent there. Explain yourself!"

Before Granger could even begin, Renteria spoke, "You've been misinformed Director, I authorized Lieutenant Sarah Granger to establish a ZOCOM Reclamation base in the Red Zone, as our previous one was destroyed by Nod during the opening battles of the war. With the place now a Red Zone, it was more imperative than ever that we re-initiate Reclamation projects. This is ZOCOM's area of operation, and, in accordance with Amendment 24, Article V, of the United Nations Global Defense Act, I quote, _'Henceforth, Zone Operations Command (ZOCOM) is authorized to be created to act in Red Zones across the planet independently of GDI command, pending that they follow all rules and regulations of GDI and all statements on this document and uphold the mandate of GDI. They are outside of the chain of command in this area only, but will defer to the GDI Council of Directors with reports on their operations. They fully authorized to initiate scientific studies pertaining to Tiberium, initiate Reclamation Projects, and act as required to defend the world against Tiberium.'_ End quote. Director, the operation Lieutenant Sarah Granger was heading out to do fully follows the GDI mandate, the UNGDA, and GDI's rules and regulation."

"But, General, you forget… Amendment 26… "_The GDI council, and by extension, the Director, has full authority to authorize and unauthorize missions and operations across the globe by the Global Defense Initiative._" I have not authorized any missions to Croatia after the death of Kane, and thus Lieutenant Granger was disobeying standing orders and initiating an unauthorized mission. Thus, I am going to have to bring her in for Court Martial… and perhaps ZOCOM needs to be reined in, and returned to regular GDI command… as it should have been from the outset."

Most of the council, besides the three generals, began to golf clap in a sycophant way. Boyle smiled. "Now then… Councilor Raedarius, will you draft such a necessary amendment?"

"Certainly, Director." said one of the sycophant political appointees on the council, the councilor of 'Ecology'.

_That damn idiot is trying to solidify his power… _Granger realized, and began to wonder… _What does that mean for GDI? Will we loose our honor… the very mandate that created us? Or will we be able to weather this idiot?_

The meeting went on for a few more hours, the councilors, as usual, agreeing with Boyle's purposes, with the three generals being the only moderating force on the council… and often overridden.

XXXXX

**New Eden Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

"We ready to go?" asked the other officer.

"Yes; we're ready. We'd better hurry."

"We're leaving without the lieutenant?"

"Yes; she told us to get moving ASAP, and she'd catch up with the second supply convoy."

"Fair enough. Let's get these Oxen in the air."

XXXXX

**The Next Day**

**Australian Outback**

**Near GDI Nuclear Storage Facility**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

The Insurgent nodded as her small strike team, made up of several Scorpion tanks retrofitted with stealth module, a few Scorpion Tanks, and Venom bearing similar modification, looked out at the battlefield. GDI General McNeil hadn't skipped on the defenses, Pitbull and Orca patrols by the dozen, old Sonic Emitters had been brought online for Kane-knows why, and the convoys themselves had a heavy guard; at least one Predator Tank and two APC's with infantry squads; one even had a Mammoth Tank escorting it. _This_ was not going to be easy…

"OK Commander," Ajay said, appearing on the side of her Scorpion Tank's gun controls (she was a fairly talented tank gunner/officer, a side-effect of her insurgencies), "We have one chance; get in and grab the goods, then get the hell out. Shouldn't be hard to separate the nukes from the convoy trucks, those suckers ain't small… Oh, check your fire, you set one of those nukes off and Ascension's gonna be redundant for you."

"Thanks Ajay," she answered with a hint of sarcasm, "That's _very_ reassuring."

"Convoys are moving out, ma'am." Reported her tank's driver.

"Copy that…" she looked over the map, then noticed that the canyon exit… where a very large Tiberium crystal, like a column, had grown, on the edge of the Yellow Zone markers… the road led out past that and onto the main road to Sydney…

"Stealth Tanks, I want the column near the exit to be struck with rockets until it collapses, target it's base."

"Stealth tanks moving out, commander."

XXXXXX

**Sydney Base**

**Sydney, Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"General, the warheads are being moved as we speak. As ordered, we reactivated the old Sonic Emitter network that was shut down after it was determined the Tib had been eradicated and was stunted. May I ask why, General?"

"You can, Commander Vega." McNeil answered, nodding. "You're father told you of the Second Tiberium War; considering what's being escorted, and how, I want every possible defense; those emitters, despite being intended for a non-combat purpose, are something that can be activated in a pinch."

"I know, General, but the mechanics say it's firing rate is too slow for any practical engagement."

"Wouldn't say that; ZOCOM already adopts it for combat, I say it's about time the rest of GDI did; sonic weaponry is GDI's answer to Nod Tiberium, just like our rail guns are our answer to their advanced laser technology."

"If you say so, General."

XXXXXX

**Australian Outback**

**Near GDI Nuclear Storage Facility**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"Column collapsed, ma'am." Reported the Stealth Tank leader.

"Good. Let's grab some nukes; I have the first convoy in sight. Target the GDI APC; that Predator may be heavily armored, but it's relying on that APC to cover it from the Venom. Strike hard and fast; they don't know we're here, they expected their patrols to stop us. Time to show them why it won't work. Fire at will."

XXXXXX

William Jenkins, GDI APC gunner, grumbled as he watched for hostiles. "Nothing, boss."

"Ah, don't worry Will, Nod won't hit us." Said the driver, Sergeant John Williams.

Suddenly, a large amount of cannon fire hit the side of the APC; blowing it over and sent it tumbling across the landscape, the crew and the squad of soldiers within, besides being tumbled like a whole lot of ice in a blender (except not being shredded), quickly died as their necks snapped, spines broke, and similar concussive forms of death.

"DAMN IT JENKINS!"

XXXXXX

**ZOCOM Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka looked at Rex in the mess hall, just down the table from her. He looked tired… and given he had slept a long time last night, that didn't sound right. They had woken up earlier that day, so few were in the Mess Hall at that time. Her new lightsaber was clipped at her belt. Another Tiberium crystal was used, and again, a green Tiberium crystal.

She pulled out her GDI transmitter and glanced at the orders; a quick update that had just arrived from the ZOCOM team, saying they had found survivors and were establishing shelter for them, including that most of their strike force survived… She dropped her fork, gasping when she saw the next one, however:

**Lieutenant Sarah Granger is to be detained and taken to Reykjavik for court martial, capital class. Direct orders from Director Redmond Boyle.**

"What the heck is he doing?" Ahsoka asked aloud, to herself as she reread it.

"Well… guess I shouldn't be surprised," commented a solider who was looking at his own transmitter at another table. "I knew the Grangers were loosin' it. C'mon, let's get this over with. Coming, Lieutenant?"

Ahsoka hesitated as she glanced at Rex, who perked up with the mention of Sarah… _I should be there to support her… least I can do_. "Alright."

XXXXXXX

XXXXXXX

**Author's notes: Just a filler chapter, really, to span the time between Nod and Scrin. Threw in some stuff from the Nod campaign to give some flavor, and to show a bit of Nod combat ability. And yes, there is always a Leroy, by any other name if necessary.**


	9. Chapter 9: Crush

_Commander! GDI just activated all southern hemisphere Ion Cannons! I thought at first they were gonna wipe us off the face of the Earth, but take a look at this!... What the hell?... Oh SHIT! Sorry Sister, we gotta move; break it down, let's go!_

- Nod Agent Ajay to his Commander, showing the Commander some disturbing footage from orbit, before being forced to abandon camp.

_I was not at Temple Prime, Sister Alexa, that was simply the bait. (…) Yes; Redmond Boyle reacted exactly as I predicted; after all, he is a politician. And as the 'Killer of Kane' he is now a hero. A hero who has no idea what he was just unleashed. Soon however, the entire planet will know. The Visitors are arriving even as we speak. Only an the Ion Cannon could create enough energy to start the chain reaction in the liquid Tiberium. The energy released was so extraordinary that it captured the attention of our Visitors… just as the Tacitus prophesized._

- Kane in a private transmission to Nod Abbess Alexa Kovacs and LEGION

**Chapter 9: Crush**

**GDI Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Lieutenant Sarah Granger, a ZOCOM Zone Raider, was sitting the cell she had been put into to 'cool off' after the brawl with the Trooper the previous day. Although technically she was defending herself, as the Trooper clearly intended to shoot her, it was agreed by the Military Police that both of them needed to calm down. She wasn't going to argue; it wasn't worth the hassle. _Besides, I did act somewhat out of proportion, considering I was trying to break the bastards arms._

The cell opened, and a cocky, young man walked in with a large grin on his face. _One of Boyle's supporters…_ Sarah recalled, then she saw Ahsoka walk in behind him, looking worried. _Oh boy… Boyle heard and he doesn't care about the regulations before him…_

"Alright little miss, you just got yourself a nice, capital class court martial." The private said, grinning. _Great, Boyle's going for the axe._ "The Zone Trooper got off easy, given he was right about you disobeyin' orders. Hehe. I knew it was only a matter of time."

Ahsoka snarled, and said, "Hey, lay off _sleemo_, innocent until proven guilty."

"What kind of insult is that, shiner? Besides, you know the Grangers are too old fashioned for this generation."

"Honor is never old fashioned, Private." Ahsoka retorted.

"Say that to the Council then." The Private said dismissively.

"You forget to take your meds this morning, Private?" Sarah asked harshly, recalling that he did take medicine for something… _Nerves I think… no, that's Coddington, this guy has… oh right; his issues are 'private'._

"No!" the private shouted, embarrassed. "I took my- I mean, Yeah I …" he reached our and grabbed her by the neck, almost throwing her out of the cell. "Get movin'."

"Hey," Ahsoka shouted at him, "Out of line, regulations state that you only use necessary force, so watch it."

"Fine." The Private said. "Hope she doesn't make a break for it… she is a Granger after all."

**XXXXX**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"What is it, Sandra?" General Granger asked, rubbing his forehead.

"DeepSpace net picked up something as it passed Vesta." Sandra responded, activating the General's omniscreen.

"What is it? Another Tiberium Meteor?"

"No. Six unidentified objects on an intercept course with Earth. Unknown material and they are not of this Earth."

An aide walked in and handed Sandra a folder and she looked in.

"The Ion Cannon has been engaged, sir."

Granger growled, "On whose authority?"

"Director Boyle." Sandra said disgusted. The screen switched to space, where six, unidentified objects sped towards Earth. One of the Ion Cannons opened fire, a white bean lacing across into one of the objects.

XXXXXX

**Scrin Mothership **_**Ichor Glory**_

"_**Unexpected hostile reaction!"**_ shouted the Foreman's AI; _**"Energy weapon deployed against transports! Evasion probability low; defensive dispersal functions initiated."**_

He watched as the transports took hits, the resulting hit creating a large dust cloud _in space_. The larger transports split into six different transports; but three of the now 42 transports were vaporized by the blast, or were knocked off line.

"_**Minor transporter damage; proceeding as targeted…"**_

XXXXXX

**Tiber River**

**Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

One of the 39 objects that were now speeding down to earth landing, kicking Tiberium over and sending dust in all directions. The dust cleared and revealed the 'ship': An alien spacecraft, but not as anyone could have expected. Six legs were now stuck into the ground, with a central tube also connected to the ground.

From inside, previously unknown life forms rushed out, inscetoid, four legged infantry with overlarge carapaces. Four-legged infantry with what looked like cannons on their heads… swarms of small, razor bladed insectoid buzzers flew out in swarms. Small hover tanks, gracefully curved and appearing to be organic floated out. Small fighters, roughly disc shaped, sped out and took point. An Ion Storm was raging, lightning lacing the ground. But unlike humans and human aircraft… the aliens thrived in it.

XXXXX

**Scrin Mothership **_**Ichor Glory**_

"_**Deployment… appears to be pre-mature! Initilizing surface scans;"**_

The ship began scanning the planet's surface, icons appearing. He knew what they read:

**Level V Civilization of 31.8 million on Planet Surface**

**Level IV Civilization of 54.2 million on Planet Surface**

"_**Analysis indications that indigenous population is dangerously viable; advise immediate mission abort, Foreman."**_

Suddenly, in response, a figure appeared in the HUD; a glowing, illuminated figure; with four tentacles around the mouth sides, two per side, with an almost (human) skull like head, but no visible neck or really anything under the mouth and 'chin'; the Foreman swallowed; it was the Supervisor.

"Mission will _NOT_ be aborted." The Supervisor said, "No precedent exists for viable indigenous resistance after Ichor LQ detonation event…" he paused, "Overlord will be intrigued; proceed with harvesting, as planned."

"_**Supervisor, registering objection. Harvesting forces are rated for Threshold defense; but it is unsuited for prolonged resistance to organized forces…"**_

"Then _disorganize_ them!" the Supervisor said hotly, as if he thought he was the only one with enough brain cells to adjust to the situation, "Divert indigenous forces _away_ from Relay Node during construction. As usual, major civilian, major military, minor civilian, minor military; continue until other wise noted. Objection dismissed."

"_**Plan accepted. Disseminating revised orders to surface units. Beginning diversion tactics on major population centers. Foreman, you're main force will assault enemy forces on Continent Three; Local Name: 'London'; meanwhile, a Mastermind will infiltrate another city, name: 'Munich', which seems to be hold to some form of Ichor assault. Mastermind is capable of working alone, while you distract indigenous forces in 'London'. To assist, a large force from Platform 934-68 will launch a diversion assault on the city. The Mastermind will contact you when ready for final sweep."**_

XXXXX

**ZOCOM Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

An Ox transport landed at the base. Contact had been spontaneously lost from several GDI positions, and Ahsoka was heading towards it when suddenly, it exploded.

Out of the skies, alien spacecraft began to fly around, indiscriminately firing on anything that looked inhabited.

"Granger, consider the court martial on hold," Ahsoka said, shoving the Private out of the way, "We got company…"

A trio the aliens, inscetoid in appearance, at 6 feet in height, suddenly teleported into the base, and from their oversized carapace, which opened… and plasma disks launched out. Ahsoka didn't even hesitate. She ignited her lightsaber and intercepted the first of the three discs. The disc launched back, blasting into the surprised alien and knocking him (it?) back, dead. The other two discs soared over their heads. Ahsoka deflected another two discs back, but before they made contact, the aliens teleported out.

"What the hell was that?" Sarah asked.

Overhead, three unknown spacecraft suddenly materialized. And large numbers of plasma discs rained out across the city.

Rex rushed outside, Rail gun modified DC-15 in hand. Suddenly, more Aliens teleported into the base, spraying some form of plasma. Rex shot the first one he could get a sight on, and the 6 foot tall alien collapsed on his/her side. The aliens began to bring down the base's gate. Watchtower turret defenses opened fire, shredding the infantry aliens.

Outside, six-legged insects standing at 9 feet tall marched up. The Guardian Cannons opened fire, trading salvos with these 'Gun Walkers', which fired plasma bolts back. Hover tanks moved in, spewing out more Plasma discs.

All over the base, Zone Troopers and Raiders suited up, infantry grabbing their guns, and a pair of Pitbull ATV's rushing out of the motor pool… just before a volley of plasma discs from one of the larger alien spacecraft blew it apart. It was pure chaos.

Suddenly, swarms of Buzzers sped in, literally going through one of the riflemen, and leaving him dead… with thousands of miniature holes in his chest, all bleeding.

"FORM UP!" Rex shouted, firing at one of the Buzzers. The swarm disintegrated as the Rail Gun plastered them, as if suddenly a semi-sentient intelligence had died.

GDI soldiers all over the city desperately tried to hold back these… invaders. But for GDI… victory looked impossible. The base was being demolished, the power to the Sonic Emitter array that kept Tiberium contained suddenly went out, the aliens pounding through the city.

Hordes of smaller, 4-foot-tall aliens, quadrapedal, but with guns for heads almost, charged, firing beams Ahsoka couldn't identify. She deflected many of the back, taking them out one by one. Massive, tri-legged walkers with three 'gun arms' marched up and opened fire, beams of pure energy lacing out into the GDI base defenses that were still intact.

"Damn it, FALL BACK!" Rex shouted, "Fighting retreat, get the civilians _out of here!_"

Suddenly, power went out for the base, and the defenses were offline.

XXXX

The Aliens pushed through, demolishing the GDI base. The private, recovering, grabbed his rifle and emptied several clips into the aliens, only for one of the larger carapaced ones to land on top of him.

"No, NO!" he screamed as a mouth opened… and then his neck was snapped, and it wasn't his problem anymore.

XXXX

**Australian Outback**

**Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"Nab those nukes and get the hell outta there!" Ajay shouted from his transport; and the Insurgent nodded, "All units, get the nukes to our evac point!"

They had captured all three warhead transports with no losses and were hurrying back to their evacuation point; lightly defended with laser turrets and SAM sites.

"What the _hell_…" said one of the Venom pilots slowly, "What's going on?"

"Alien Invasion! By Kane; this can't be happening…"

"Settle down," the Insurgent coldly said, even from the cramped head of the tank, "Are the nukes secured?"

"Yes ma'am," answered one of the team's saboteurs, "According to the drivers, the nukes were ordered to be moved for 'emergency purposes'."

"Save the details for later, we have to get out of here!"

XXXX

Falling back to the city wall, Rex ducked behind a wall. A trio of plasma discs slammed into the cover, Rex rose and shot the "Shock Trooper" as Rex decided to call the big 4-legged infantry, which collapsed as a bullet blew a hole in its head.

Ahsoka leapt over, Sarah right behind her and armed with a GD-2 Rifle.

"Can't hold 'em long Rex!" Ahsoka said, before jumping onto the wall and deflecting more of the plasma discs back at the invading aliens.

"Commander Rex to GDI Command, _Come in!_"

"Commander Rex, this is General Granger. We got FutureTech scientists who have been doing analysis of the invaders in need of help. Get over there and cover them. We can't get you reinforcements Rex; we got invaders in Blue Zones all over the place."

"Understood, General."

"So much for being Court Marshaled for Boyle's idiocy…" Sarah muttered to herself as she took out a trio of the smaller aliens.

"What?" Rex shouted, looking at her and missing his shot. A disintegration beam blew a piece of his cover away, forcing Rex to duck.

"Long story, Commander." Sarah said.

XXXX

**Somewhere in Austria**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

"What the _hell_?" shouted a GDI tank crewman as he saw _things_ materializing in the Blue Zone ahead; "What's going on?"

"Looks like… aliens." Said his partner, stunned

"Shit. Oh shit shit shit shit SHIT! Better wake the passengers, this is going to get ugly fast!"

XXXX

**Australian Outback**

**Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"Those Carryall's better get here soon, or we're toast!" shouted a Venom pilot.

"Just hold the line!" the Insurgent ordered, "Ajay, come in."

Static answered, "No… can… plasma… shit…"

_Damn it_, she thought, "ST-626 and 262, Target enemy at point-three-five."

"Yes ma'am."

The Stealth Tanks opened fire, two dozen rockets speeding towards an alien tripod, hitting it in a crippling barrage; the alien tripod screamed and collapsed, leaving a bleeding husk behind.

"Do these _things_ bleed Tiberium?" shouted one of the Scorpion Tank crewmen, in another tank.

"I guess so," answered another tank crewman.

The Insurgent glanced on the radar; the Carryalls had arrived.

"Carryall Squadron XA-17; we're here. Load up and let's go!"

XXXX

"Let's go," Rex said after reloading.

Leaping from their cover and rallying GDI soldiers as they went, they pushed towards the FutureTech labs. When Rex got there, he found civilian transports being loaded.

"We're evacuating, Commander. Got all the data… should tell us something!" shouted a female doctor as she hurried into a transport.

"Got it! We'll cover your escape!" Rex shouted, blowing another Alien infantryman(?) apart with his rifle. In the sky, lighting began to lace through, a torrential downpour of rain rushing down to mix with the blood of human and alien alike, to spread it across the city. The blood of innocents and soldier alike ran as the aliens mercilessly wiped Munich off the face of the planet.

"Ahsoka, Sarah, get some men together!" Rex shouted as he emptied his guns 1-shot clip at an enemy Gun Walker; "We'll hold 'em here as long as we can, _get the convoy out of here!_"

"Got it Rex!" Ahsoka shouted, rushing out towards the city wall and out of his sight. _Go on lil'un, do us all proud…_

"Come on you bastards!" Rex shouted as he effortlessly switched weapons, he was going to hold the line; he had a debt to repay.

XXXX

Ahsoka looked up as she reached the city wall.

Most Blue Zone cities had walls where they connected to Tiberium infected areas. The Munich ones were slightly outdated as GDI sonic emitters had contained the Tiberium outside months ago, but they were still a handy defense.

"How we getting over that?" Sarah asked questioningly, "Jump Jets may clear that, but it's still risky as hell."

"Follow me." Ahsoka said, and leapt up far beyond what a human could do, grabbing the rivets. Sarah activated a Jump Jet she had scavenged from a downed Zone Trooper and followed, using it to launch over the wall, though she didn't get altitude nor was she willing to risk large landings without proper Zone Armor, so she grabbed rivets as Ahsoka was, and once over, used the jets to slow her descent.

They landed outside, where there was still ruin from older conflict. A GDI Battle Base was firing its dual Guardian Cannons at the invading aliens, an entire division of Mammoth Tanks, supporting by a dwindling number of Slingshots, were holding at the river, and targeting any invaders they spotted.

Assisting where they could, they began to gather a strike team to get the convoy out of Munich.

First, they assisted some riflemen pinned down in the ruins by the aliens armed with Disintegrators, which GDI soldiers began to call them. Ahsoka took point, slashing through the infantry while the others shot the ones she missed. The sickly green, almost sludge-like blood splattered onto Ahsoka's commando armor, staining it and covering her. She reached the last one, squishing it under her boot heel as she put the lightsaber through its center… and it exploded, the goo-like blood knocking her backwards.

"Stang, that hurt," Ahsoka said to herself as she looked down at her armor, which was clearly burnt now; she rubbed her chin; it was burnt too.

"You OK?" Sarah asked as she reloaded next to her; Ahsoka noted that despite having Sarah salvaged some body armor, shoulder guards, arm guards, and some other pieces of armor (including, fortunately, a chest and groin piece from an **unfortunately** dead GDI soldier); she had suffered several cuts from simple environmental problems, mostly jagged edges. Nothing serious… yet. _She'll need a helmet;_ Ahsoka knew; though she mused on how having others need helmets but not demand the same of herself was, in an ironic sense, hypocritical.

Moving on, they then found a pair of Pitbulls locked in a life-or-death ground-based dogfight with alien hover tanks. Ahsoka leapt onto one and cut it apart with her lightsaber, then the Pitbulls managed to focus fire on the other, bringing it down, it exploded, cracking and showing the green sludge-like blood was also in the aliens 'vehicles' too, and it screamed in a very unsettling tone as it collapsed, bleeding and falling apart in charred black pieces.

They then found eight of the best Zone Troopers ZOCOM had trained. They were facing off with their alien equivalents, the so-called "Shock Troopers". Ahsoka lifted one up with the Force, finding it surprisingly easy, and shoved it into its two companions. Sarah rushed in, leaping on top of one and shooting it in the head. The Troopers knocked out another trio, and the Riflemen managed to shoot the last few.

Regrouping and heading towards the city wall's Highway exit, formerly a checkpoint, Ahsoka saw three civilian busses leaving, all of them scratched, but there was no proper damage yet… GDI infantry were holding down the check point, unloading their accelerated bullets at the alien infantry pounding at their defensive… the soldiers had all been killed before Ahsoka or her makeshift team could get to them.

"GDI Convoy here, we're clear of the city walls!"

The Zone Troopers, striding ahead, jump jetted over the busses, and intercepted a squad of Disintegrators, the rail gun rounds obliterating the enemy infantry-things, blowing their center mass apart and sending the legs in various directions in an explosion that stained the ground with their biology.

Ahsoka and Sarah rushed forward after them, lending their lightsaber and rifle respectively against the incoming waves of Disintegrator infantry, Pitbulls shooting down alien fighters left and right. Advancing along the road, GDI and alien forces battle it out, trying to protect or destroy the busses.

Static was heard on one of the channels… _"The city is __on _FIRE_! All of it... it… _it's gone_!__"_

Ahsoka ducked as a trio of Shock Troopers teleported next to her and almost killed her. She then cut their legs out from under them in a leg sweep, inadvertently killing them with her lightsaber, by virtue of the low head on them.

Larger alien ships were now coming in, spraying plasma with no care for civilian or military. They simply let the plasma flow, a school bus carrying children exploding as one of the murderous discs hit it.

But GDI couldn't focus on that… they had to slow the aliens down as much as possible, to stop the carnage. They were beyond full stretch… in the air, Firehawks and Orcas were being shot down, crashing into the earth in heaps of screaming metal, bringing few of the alien craft down themselves.

But on the ground, where the aliens had no air support… GDI excelled as much as they could in the situation. Their armor was superior to anything the Aliens had. Mammoth Tanks dueled with Tripods in brutal matches of who-has-tougher-armor-and-bigger-guns, the Mammoths pulling ahead. The battle was like a picture from a bibiclial account of the apocalypse; one Mammoth tank exploded with such a fury as it was overwhelmed by a group of Tripods that the shrapnel plowed through the nearby aliens rushing up, cutting them asunder as it flow past at easily seventy miles an hour before hitting the ground and flying away. The Mammoths retaliated; bringing a tripod screaming down as they blasted it repeatedly, spraying the area with the tripod's thick green blood and scattering it's parts across, showing no mercy… for they received _**none**_.

Pitbulls skidded as they tried to target the alien aircraft, their dual rocket launchers on overtime. Mammoth Tanks, when clear, even turned their rockets towards the aircraft of the aliens… but it was all clearly in vain. The Aliens had numbers, surprise, and momentum. And worst of all… air superiority. GDI had no hope of stopping the massive fleet of air power rolling over them. Plasma discs rained down, soldiers were being obliterated, even outright disintegrated, left and right, all over; Ahsoka could feel their pain as they died… GDI was losing men fast; they couldn't fight forever… they were losing.

The aliens attacking the convoy suddenly turned, and destroyed the bridge.

"Lieutenant, they've blown the bridge, we're taking an alternate route!" shouted a frantic driver, turning left onto the other road.

"Do what you have to!" Ahsoka shouted, deflecting a plasma disc meant for the bus back into the sky. She could feel all the pain from the city, and even the aliens… it was… almost unbearable, larger numbers then she was used to fighting near… and this time, it seemed the only goal of the enemy was to just plain _obliterate the planet and it's people_.

_"People are being TORN APART!" _shouted a GDI soldier over the radio, going hysterical. _"They're killing __everyone!__ It's… it's… madness!"_

Ahsoka lifted one of the alien Shock Troopers with the Force and sent it tumbling into an enemy tank. The pain was a focus, reminding her exactly what she was fighting to prevent.

"_Rending of the flesh and… and…"_

A trio of Shock Troopers teleported to her and blasted her forward. Before she could turn to defend herself however, Zone Troopers landing from a Jump Jetting, knocking the aliens down and cracking their carapaces. Ahsoka quickly impaled the first Shock Trooper in the head while the Zone Troopers put rail gun rounds through the other ones.

"Thanks for the save!" she said to the Trooper.

"No problem," said the trooper as he blew another alien dead.

"And I thought we were alone in the universe!" shouted the hysterical soldier.

GDI was falling back now, being pushed to the river. One of the busses took a direct hit and skidded to a halt.

"DAMNIT, we gotta stop at the Battle Base for repairs! Come on… come on!" shouted the driver, urging the buss to keep going. It began to crawl forward.

Stopping at the now-abandoned Battle Base, the base's repair drones quickly flew to the buses, in accordance to their programming, fixing the busses up as best they could. GDI soldiers dug in around it, firing anything they could lay their hands on into the aliens; a dead soldier's rocket launcher to taking a Guardian cannon's wrecked firing system and rigging it to work as a makeshift cannon; held like a battering ram. The recoil hurt, but the soldiers were desperate.

Ahsoka leapt atop of one of the buses, and deflected plasma back at the invaders as they rained it down upon them from above in their fighters and heavy cruisers. The hailstorm was large, but she had no difficulty deflecting the focused beams from the fighters. The bus she stood on began to smoke and the scientists within were tripping over each other trying to get out. Suddenly, the bus exploded, launching her into the air… she realized she had enough height now to reach an alien cruiser… using the Force, she pushed herself higher; not much higher, but higher… as she fell, mere feet after, she landed atop of an alien cruiser; she could see it's launcher matrix, of sorts, swirling in front of the cruiser (which looked to Ahsoka like an Earth-born scarab). She cut its connecting arms off, and the cruiser seemed to scream from within. She slashed her lightsaber across, finding the cruiser to be half wider/longer then a Republic Gunship; she severed it almost wholly in half; it fell apart and fell down to Earth; she rode one half down, the cruiser burning up as if on reentry… and she leapt off, using the Force to stabilize herself before landing, and hit the ground, putting a hand down to stabilize, and stood up. A GDI soldier crouching in cover next to her looked in awe… and plasma discs hit him, leaving nothing but smoke where he was standing a millisecond before. His rifle fell towards the ground; Ahsoka caught it, crouching behind cover as several discs from the shock troopers who killed the soldier flew other; she rose up and shot them, killing them.

"No way we're dying like this…" Ahsoka shouted, dropping the rifle and launching over the stone fence she took cover behind, lightsaber at the ready, and she bull-rushed the Shock Troopers ahead who were engaging the GDI soldiers. She deflected the plasma discs as she stormed forth, and the alien units suddenly realized that they had a _Jedi_ about to cut through their ranks. Ahsoka could feel whatever the aliens used for blood, many of the bursts coming from GDI bullet holes in the aliens, splashed against her as she cut through.

XXXX

**London, England**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Sergeant Louise James emptied her clip frantically as the aliens blasted through their barricade; they managed to evacuate a group of civilians, and were loading them onto transports at Parliament to get them away via the Thames River.

"Look out!" shouted her commanding officer, Commander Riggs; "Enemy tanks, 9 o'clock!"

She glanced over; several alien hover tanks were moving up; she had seen them demolish the residential area, and knew they were a threat.

"Hardhat! Launch one!"

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" said her squad's rocket soldier, who moved up, knelt, and fired a missile. It soared forward across the battlefield, lacing past the volleys of alien plasma and human (accelerated) bullets, and struck its target in the crack between it's 'head' (or was it a turret?), and it's body. The tank buckled backwards, cracks forming across it as it was damaged and sickly green goo poured out…

Suddenly, two squadrons of enemy aircraft buzzed in, and one of the transports exploded…

"Louise!" shouted a man near the explosion, with a young boy at his arms; she looked back;

"Alex!" she shouted, rushing back; "Tom!"

But it was too late; the explosion had done it's damage, shrapnel had shredded the two of them and they both had third degree burns… there was nothing.

"Alex! Tom!" she shouted, holding her husband as his eyes seemed to glaze…

A larger alien ship appeared overhead, barraging the evacuation center; Parliament's famous Big Ben took a direct hit, the bell tower collapsing as it's supports were ruthlessly exterminated. Another explosion launched her backwards, away from her husband and son…

"Damn it James, come on!" Riggs shouted, "Last transport, _Let's GO!"_

She looked back, to catch one last glimpse of her now deceased loved ones… only to see that a plasma disc had burned away whatever was left… and a bubbling pool was all that remained of them.

XXXX

**City Outskirts**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Rex came running out, GDI infantry in tow, and he was using his dual pistols, his DC-15 slung across his back. He skidded to a halt next to the battle base, looking at Ahsoka, bewildered that she stopped;

"They're taking down the walls, Ahsoka! What's the hold up, we gotta move! NOW!"

"Come on… THERE WE GO! Let's blow this pop stand!" shouted the driver of the lead bus, and the convoy got moving again.

"Move; move; move!" Rex ordered, switching to a GD-2 rifle, strapping his modified DC-15 to his back. As the enemy infantry rushed forward, he opened fire from his waist; not ideal, but he needed to move backwards. His training since birth was paying of that day, as even without the ideal shot, he could still hit a target from gut instinct. He saw Ahsoka's blade flashing, deflecting enemy plasma projectiles back at their origin. He saw a steadfast determination; he'd seen it before, and he knew what it meant: Innocents were being attacked; if they were on the counter-attack… Rex would of pitied those on the receiving end for the briefest of moments. He'd seen her in action; serene and calm as she tried to be, she definitely strayed from his understanding of common Jedi philosophy in a fight… _and I'm not complaining_.

They reached the crossroads and began to turn to the next… the last, bridge. APC's sped towards them… suddenly, the infantry inside leapt out and the APC's detonated, rolling forward as their transports exploded, the infantry regained their footing and opened fire, gunning down the alien fighters responsible for their APC's destruction.

"DAMNIT, the APC's!" shouted a Zone Trooper.

"Assault Platoon Epsilon at your service, Commander!" came a very familiar voice as the soldiers from the now-gone APCs started shredding the alien soldiers with brutal efficiency; exploding the enemy with the sheer mass of bullets, rockets and Rail Guns.

"Sergeant McCarthy?" Rex shouted, relieved.

"Hell yeah, and we got Talons en route to help you."

Predator Tanks rolled up, and a woman's voice came over the radio. "You know Commander, I don't get why they like these tanks. Too small, and they don't give you the feeling of power that the Titian does."

"Good to see you too Tex. Now, let's do it!"

XXXX

Ahsoka spotted the Sonic Emitters along the river… _Shame those things aren't real guns, giant blaster cannons of that size and we'd be splattering invader across the ruins._

"Rex, I'm going to hotwire the Emitters, cover me!"

"Ahsoka, those things aren't meant for combat!"

"The aliens apparently didn't think so!" Ahsoka retorted. "They gotta think something's to do with them beyond containing Tiberium!"

"Go!" Rex shouted, reorganizing the troops to keep the aliens back.

Ahsoka rushed to the river, leaping across it as a pair of Mammoth Tanks rolled across it to cover the convoy. She rushed into the Emitters' control station. Yanking the control panel open, she began connecting wires and changing out plugs. The convoy fought on… and began to cross the bridge, Tripods right behind them.

Suddenly, as a tripod was about to crush a Predator tank like a soda can, a massive, loud, roar echoed across the battlefield, as a white-hot wave of energy rippled across the ground and river, and laced into the Tripod. The tripod screamed horrifically, as it literally fell apart, green Tiberium being revealed mixed in with it's 'flesh'. It collapsed, leaving a ruined, bleeding husk.

"HELL YEAH!" shouted Sergeant McCarthy, "You see that? Take that you alien scum, _**eat hot sound!**_"

"Hell yeah!" shouted Joric the Grenadier, "Cutting through those bastards like a plasma knife through polybutter!" Suddenly, static came from his end… he was likely dead.

"Our sonic emitters! They're weakening the invaders, LOOK! The warships are hesitant, and the aliens are holding back!" Sarah shouted joyfully, despite blood trickling down her faces from minor cuts. "Keep it going Ahsoka, it's working!"

"On it;" Ahsoka answered, "All GDI units, set your ear protection to this frequency…" In a broad GDI channel, she sent the code. Soldiers took a second to adjust their helmets, and continued on.

The emitters proved to be the most formidable defense yet, despite their being militarily improvised. The aliens fell apart, screaming in pain beyond belief as the waves of sound claimed them, disintegrating them and literally shaking them to pieces. The GDI forces fell back across the river and towards the subway evacuation site, regrouping and revealing how formidable GDI truly was, even in retreat. Ahsoka spotted a Zone Trooper, with heavily damaged armor and his face plate blown off, carrying a salvaged chain gun, ripping the aliens a dozen ways from the Pentagon as he took slow steps backwards, belt fed ammunition keeping his GDI Anti-Air base-defense salvaged chain gun humming.

"They're bringing in air power!" shouted a Pitbull gunner as they reached the station. Ahsoka abandoned the power station, having the sonic emitters keep firing at anything that moved… only aliens now. She leapt onto the last standing Mammoth Tank, deflecting plasma discs away from it.

"We're evacuating into the subway, hold on!" shouted the female doctor Rex had talked to.

XXXX

"Captain Horn to Commander Rex, we are en route to engage. Pitbulls and Missile Squads should be arriving now."

"Thanks for the assist, Captain. Let's do it!" Rex shouted, grabbing a missile launcher himself and aiming. Many more alien fighters were speeding it to engage the elite aces of GDI and blow apart the GDI ground forces, and then… a lightshow began.

But not of light. But missiles. Rattlesnake Missiles from the Firehawks, R3-S6's from the Pitbulls and Missile Squads, they all flew into the sky, hunting down the very same alien aircraft that murdered countless innocents, bringing justice to the evil that had been loosed. Alien aircraft began to fall as they were overwhelmed by GDI's response, burning to ash and screaming as they fell to their doom. GDI soldiers, using anything they could find again, from battered pistols and rifles to makeshift rocket launchers created hailstorms, making any move by the aliens a suicide move. Rex feared the aliens would go around them; they couldn't hold the position forever, especially if surrounded.

"Henderson, take your squad and keep an eye on the flanks!" Rex ordered, ducking back into cover and popping out his now-empty clip, then popped out of cover again, his GD-2 riddling a trio of incoming Shock Troopers.

More civilians had made it from throughout the city, coming by however they could, by car, bus, or foot. While the GDI military held the line the Aliens continued their advance. The sonic emitters were finally passed as tripods and more began to come down upon them. The aliens paused; as if contemplating the attack.

"Not _one, __**step**__, __**BACKWARDS**__!_" Rex shouted, "We're holding them back until the civilians are clear! They're pushed us back, men, but are we going to simply stand and let them kill people? Over _their_ dead bodies! We're going to make sure that they, here and now, don't harm _**one, more, **__**innocent**_!"

"With God damn pleasure, sir!" shouted McCarthy, who backed up his words by rushing forward, leaping onto a alien Shock Trooper about to kill a family trapped in a Volkswagen near their barricade, putting bullets through the would-be murderer's head, then leaping off as plasma discs rained at him, bringing the family to the subway station alive.

XXXX

Sarah, now covered with cuts and bruises, to the point where she could taste the blood slipping into her mouth, jump jetted over the battle, dodging plasma as she flew, onto a roof, and four Zone Troopers followed. From their vantage point, they rained the fire down upon the invaders, killing many as they tried to advance.

Sarah emptied the clip, then ducked back under cover, slapping the empty clip out and slapping in another full clip, then popped around, the _blap-blap-blap_ from her GD-2 rifle and it's vibration hitting against her as her shots caused a dozen more of the 'Disintegrators' to explode as their central mass was hit and whatever chemicals within were superheated. She pulled a grenade from her belt; a utility grenade, but better then nothing; the grenade landed and blew a pair of alien Shock Troopers apart, sending their now sundered body parts in various directions.

XXXX

Ahsoka deflected more discs back from the Mammoth, but one managed to disable it. The crew leapt out and rushed to the subway, Ahsoka covering them. She knew quite well the stand they were making could not hope to hold. They were being overwhelmed on all sides, and even with the recent reinforcements, it was only a temporary measure. But GDI was making a statement to these aliens, and Ahsoka knew what it was: _You may burn out cities, kill our people, but we will resist you to the last bullet, fight to the last man and woman, and make you pay in blood for every inch, make you pay for every innocent you murder, and even if you defeat us, we'll leave such a mark on your history that your children will weep in fear when they are told of the human race._

GDI made good on that promise. The civilians, safely in a bullet train heading to still-secure cities, were free, and now it was a purely military engagement.

"Time to leave," Rex said. "All units, fall back, we've done our duty. We can't accomplish anything more here; time to cut our losses. We'll be back, trust me. They won't like round two."

GDI fell back, the alien's advance blunted by the steadfast duty and courage of GDI. The aliens wanted to pursue, clearly, but it seemed that they had been ordered to stay at the city… GDI soldiers escaped, but they were far from a full strike force… but for the battle they had fought, they had exceeded the expectations.

History would look at the Battle of Munich many years later… no one would argue, it was a stunning defeat for GDI's first contact with alien life, its first true challenge at protecting the world from exterior threats. _**But;**_ it would also be hailed as a great victory for humanity: Even defeated, it proved that it would stand to the end to defend their homes, it proved that it _could_ stand. GDI would rally from that battle, and prove to be the greatest adversary for their foes.

The alien organization they faced was one that had proved itself in many planets, strip mining them of Tiberium, leaving entire worlds depopulated just so they could have more Tiberium. GDI, and Earth itself was now the latest target of this group. Humanity would eventually come to know them as… the Scrin.

XXX

**Scrin Mothership **_**Ichor Glory**_

**Moon Orbit; Dark side**

Foreman 371 sighed as he looked at the total costs; a considerable number of units lost in both the London and Munich engagements. _These units are not cheap to create… the Supervisor is going to have my brain…_

"_**Foreman, Mission Success has warranted you an increase in funding and access to an additional Unit Pylon within Ichor hub. You may now requisition our more advanced units."**_

"What about our losses?"

"_**Supervisor has deemed them an acceptable trade off; indigenous species are busy defending their population centers and are not engaging our forces."**_

The console's view of the planet, "Earth", as called by the local species, focused on a (human) boot-like strip of land covered in Ichor; and an icon appeared.

"_**Relay Node Construction complete; Threshold Tower Assembly beginning. Full forces may now be deployed via portals, warp spheres, and more."**_

XXX

**Undisclosed Location**

**Zone Unknown**

Kane smiled as he watched his plan unfold. _The bait was set, the trap left, and GDI swallowed the bait._ He felt the need to give a motivational speech; he was unsure why at first, but he decided that it was always best to have a recorded one for practice's sake, at the least. _Perhaps to give to those who are to be possible leaders as an example of work, _Kane mused. He got to work, ensuring he was alone.

"The wheels of time continue," Kane began as he set up a recording, "The visitors have arrived; and now things come further around the circle. The stage will be set for the full circle, but for now… for now, patience is our virtue. The Visitors do not know that they are about to suffer their worst debacle in eternity; their first _true_ defeat, and fall into their place within my plan. The Brotherhood looks to the stars, knowing that soon, they will be amongst them, ascending to glory."

He paused as he watched footage from Munich; he ended the recording, and activated his personal journal, "GDI already has shown that even in defeat it will still fight. They have grown to what I expected, and more. They are proving themselves;" he switched to images from Hammerfest, and saw the Steel Talon garrison, given advanced warning and plenty time to prepare, was obliterating the invading aliens, though not without considerable casualties; but in London, where GDI was caught wholly unprepared and without a chance to even get their rifles from their lockers, he saw the aliens destroy the whole city, once under Commander Riggs, now a wasteland. Kane felt some disappointment; but he knew that GDI could not be as successful as Rex was in a sudden assault; "GDI is put to the test, and while it fails in some places, many of it's commanders show the imitative that will allow them to gain the advantage, to build the momentum that GDI relies on… once GDI has recovered from it's shock, they will defeat the invaders; not a question of _if_, but _when_. Nod will be ready if GDI fails, and it will claim it's destiny as it's foes fight like ants, unaware that they are all pawns in a much _larger_ game. Soon, the Visitors will feel their mistake, soon, Nod will claim its next step to glory… and soon, the Visitors, the _'Scrin'_, will know their first true defeat, their worst debacle so far… _in eternity._"


	10. Chapter 10: The Trooper and the Jedi

_-The mission _will not be **aborted!** _You will proceed as _ORDERED! _Overlord suspects a deliberate Ichor LQ detonation to lure harvesting operation by indigenous species. You are to scour the blast site for evidence of premature detonation by indigenous species. Confiscate _**all**_ Ichor information and report findings to Hub. That is all._

_-Order accepted. Disseminating __**questionable**__ directives to Surface Units. Initial Blast Site Located; Both Indigenous Factions waging extended conflict in area; advise avoiding conflict until both sides have worn each other out and only engaging when necessary, Foreman._

- Scrin Overseer to Scrin Foreman 371, and his Warp Link AI's sarcastic comment.

_Alright Kilian; I'm trusting you because I know you care for those under your command, and as a repayment of a favor back before Tib War Two; but don't think for a _second_ that I'm not watching for treachery. The moment you Noddies try _anything_, I'll blast you to hell. Just remember, Kilian, _you_ purposed this; if Nod hates you for it, that's _your_ problem, not mine._

- GDI General McNeil to Nod General Kilian Qatar, sealing an unorthodox Alliance of Necessity in Australia purposed by Kilian Qatar to McNeil.

**Chapter 10: The Trooper and the Jedi**

**GDI Temporary Outpost**

**Near the Rhine River, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Rex activated his heavier duty transmitter. Sandra had called for him to open a link as soon as possible with the other GDI commanders to coordinate a response against the invaders and not only stop them, but turn the tide and end the invasion once and for all.

As Rex got his screen working, Ahsoka sitting next to him on one side, Sarah on the other. General Granger walked in to his office on the other end of the link, looking fresh from combat.

"That was brilliant work!" Granger congratulated, "Looks like these things aren't invincible after all." He sighed. "Of course, I'd feel a hell of a lot better if I knew what their agenda was beyond just wrecking havoc and murdering everyone in sight…"

He then perked up, in an almost, but not quite, happy way. "But, one benefit of that uncertainty is that it's driven that blowhard Boyle into hiding."

Rex, Ahsoka, and Sarah smirked at each other. Sandra then said, "In a secured Bunker in Reykjavik located under our new 'main' command. And that's where you're supposed to be too, General."

"Not a chance in hell." General Granger said, like the thought was utterly idiotic. Two more screens popped up. General Mitchell and General Renteria, and following that, a third, with General McNeil, hero of the 2nd Tiberium War. Afterwards, a number of other commanders, most of them under the command of a now-gone general, also appeared. "We're gonna use this time to make some moves without being second guessed, you're the key here, Commander. I need you to build up some momentum, just like you did with Nod." He glanced at what was probably the other screens, "I was referring to Commander Rex near Munich, commanders."

"Generals, Commanders." McNeil said, nodding. "Got a bunch of these damn aliens in Australia, the Noddies are sure in a hiffy. They're offering to help us fight 'em in Australia. Probably only caring about their worthless base down there, during the aliens first hit they made off with a few nukes, but they can't use 'em due to the codes I left there to spite them. I'm getting civilian evacuation ready to go, but the thing is, no where for them to go if all the other Blue Zones fall."

"Out of curiosity, McNeil, who's the Nod leader?" Granger asked.

"Qatar." McNeil said worriedly, as if he knew something Rex didn't.

Granger had a visible change on his face, but he hid it to quick for Rex to get a very good read of it, save it brought up memories. _I'll ask when he's ready_, Rex decided.

"I'll arrange for a strong force to help escort the civilians to Hawaii, the invaders seem to be ignoring it." General Renteria said. "I'm in China right now, we got the Tacitus and are preparing to move it to a new facility by ship, neither Nod nor Invader seem to have sea based forces capable of matching our navy. We can rendezvous with the evacuation and get you to Pearl Harbor, then we can get this to our facility."

"I got aliens crawling up my walkers like someone set their ant hole on fire down here in Hollywood. We've contained them, but we're pushed to our limits. Worse news too, I just learned that our, that is, the Steel Talon's facility in Deutschland, Germany is being attacked." Mitchell brought the camera closer to him. "Rex, we can't let that facility fall, we loose that, we loose our armor advantage over these damn aliens!"

Rex nodded.

"Commander Rex, we're putting too much on your shoulders," Granger began, "I admit it, but let me say this about you: You seem to _want_ that responsibility, I don't know how or why, but you just seem to. Rex… GDI is counting on you. GDI soldiers around the world are telling stories still about how the tide turned at DC. I hate politics Rex, but seeing you win and turn the tables might inspire some more victories. It did it against Nod, maybe it'll work again against the aliens." Turning (figuratively) to the other commanders, "Every one of you is important if we're going to win this; Rex may be the most visible commander, but if we rely on him, we're going to lose. I'm counting on every one of you to stop the Invaders in your area and turn the tide."

"Rex has the worst hit areas," said Commander Wesley Riggs, from a base near what was left of London, "And after seeing his work in DC, we can see _why_ you trust him."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Riggs." Rex said honestly.

"Commanders, I'm sending orders and briefings now. Sandra, brief Rex for me, Generals, stay on her channel, I'll be back afterward briefing the other commanders. Kirce, you brief Riggs; Haras, brief Locke, Tinsworth, breif that cockcase known as Yorrick…"

"We have other problems, Invaders have spread out from Munich and not only to Deutschland, but to the Sonic Crystal facility in Stuttgart." Sandra said "Lieutenant Fullerton reports that if you can send another Commando to assist, he should be able to regroup his scattered men."

"I'll go," Ahsoka said, "These aliens seem to fear me, so if I go in with Fullerton, I should be able to do a lot of damage, physically, and hopefully psychologically as well."

Rex nodded. "I'll get to Deutschland and kick those damn aliens out and show them how the Steel Talons rock the world."

The generals, who were still on Rex's (and by extension, Granger's) screen, nodded, and one by one, the screens winked out.

"Good luck, Ahsoka." Rex said. She nodded.

XXXX

**Nod Field Outpost; 150 Kilometers from Sydney**

**Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"I can't believe you did that." Ajay said in a hauntingly calm voice, as if expecting it to pan out exactly like it did. The Legendary Insurgent felt a slight shiver go up her spine as she considered how Ajay could deliver such accusation coldly and without any visible emotion.

"_I cannot believe you are questioning my decision!"_ Kilian shouted back, as if insulted to her very soul. Ajay was on a screen speaking to Kilian directly from his new (temporary) command post until he got to his new location, while the Insurgent was directly linked to Ayer's Rock Headquarters.

"She betrayed us, I knew she would." Ajay answered, looking at the Insurgent.

Kilian stared at Ajay, "I betrayed no one, _I saved the Brotherhood!_ The Invaders are _too many_ and **too strong**!" Kilian looked away from Ajay forcefully and looked at the Insurgent directly, and in an unusually fast pace, explained;

"_GDI troops are falling as fast as our own, we're all in this together,__** like it or not!**__"_ She paused, "I had no choice."

The Insurgent could hear remorse, or some other form of sadness within Kilian's voice; "I made a deal with… a former contact of mine, before he joined GDI properly… Michael McNeil; he's desperate enough to approach us on an Alliance of Necessity. We're going to help him defend his Sydney base."

"How can she trust that weasel?" Ajay asked, likely appalled that Kilian cut a deal with _McNeil_.

"If that base falls," Kilian said, biting her words and beginning to pick up speed again, "GDI will pull out of Australia entirely and we _simply cannot defend the entire country with our current arsenal! It's in our best interest to-_"

"**This is treason!**" Ajay shouted at the top of his lungs, and Kilian turned to Ajay's screen, her mouth open in shock; "**Kane would never cut a deal with **_**GDI!**_**"**

Slowly and quietly, as if talking to someone who couldn't understand, Kilian said, "Kane. Is. _Dead._"

"And that's exactly what you wanted, isn't it?" Ajay answered equally quiet.

"What I _want_," she growled, "is a fully functioning arsenal of nuclear ICBMs. And while we help McNeil defend his base, we will steal the launch codes for the nuclear warheads we have already captured."

Kilian turned to the Insurgent; she could see the desperation in her eyes; "Look, Commander; you have specialty in these types of insurgencies… Forming an alliance with GDI is _unorthodox_, I know. But right now, the _Invaders_ are a greater threat then _GDI_, and I believe those missiles are our only hope of defending ourselves against their forces. Everything depends on you, Commander." Ajay looked to the Insurgent, through his link to Ayer's Rock and back through her link to Ayer's rock, and nodded, using the link and suddenly, her screen directly went to Ajay's encampment.

"OK;" Ajay admitted, "Her plan's not totally stupid." He sighed, "Still, this is messed up. Helping GDI defend their lousy-ass city against the aliens?_ The world's upside down… upside fracking down…_" he sighed again, "Okay; so I guess the plan is, _help GDI fight the invaders, but don't forget to steal GDI's nuclear launch codes,_** so we can blow GDI all to hell! **_After we help them whack the aliens,_ who are supposed to be on our allies! Makes sense? Course not. Women."

The Insurgent gave Ajay a tight smile of amusement as Ajay realized who he just said that to.

XXXX

**Middle of the City**

**Stuttgart, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

"So, you're the youngest GDI commando in history." Fullerton said, impressed as he studied her. Ahsoka had arrived clad in GDI commando armor, again, sans the helmet, and this time, without a Rail Carbine either, because it would only slow her down as she traveled light to get to Stuttgart undetected She was given a couple C4 charges, a pistol, and a small med kit; just in case. "Well, I got men pinned down all over this damn city, if we're gonna stand a chance in hell we gotta regroup and get our base back online."

Ahsoka nodded. "Well, we better get started."

Heading north, they rescued a trio of GDI Riflemen squads and a pair of Missile Troopers from a band of Disintegrators that were disintegrating the hull of a destroyed Mammoth Tank that they were taking cover behind. They then all went to the east, and found a sniper team in trouble.

"Yeah, we're fine as long as we don't shoot, Charlie tried that in another building, they went right inside and killed him, just went through the windows and shredded him alive, dropping him out the window." a sniper said with surprising calm to them via radio. _Cold sniper,_ Ahsoka decided.

"How many swarms?" Ahsoka asked.

"Uh… two to five I think… can't get an accurate count…" the sniper answered. Ahsoka extended her awareness with the Force, probing the buzzer swarms gently.

"I can sense a semi sentient intelligence in those… they're practically attack dogs. They know your scent, but they don't know you're inside." Ahsoka explained best she could, "I think we can clean them out. Rex mentioned that if we hit whatever guides them, he thinks you just have to cause enough pain to the swarm, and it should drop them dead. Ready Fullerton?"

"Hell yeah." Fullerton said, jump jetting and landing nearby, shooting three of the buzzer swarms, the Rail Carbine's rounds exploding and consuming the swarms intelligence, causing the swarms to instantly disperse and die. The Snipers then were able to get shots on the remaining two, killing the buzzer swarms instantly.

Four snipers rushed outside, "We're ready, just show us the enemy!"

"**Commandos, ZOCOM soldiers are trapped in the wreckage of Predator tanks near the 3rd German National Bank, trapped by "Shock Troopers", as the heavy alien infantry have been classified."**

Ahsoka nodded, then tapped a button on her wrist gear. A map of Stuttgart appeared in a hologram. The soldier's location was marked with a yellow marker. Three green markers then appeared, denoting the main ZOCOM facility, at the southeast end of the city, an Assault Base, a larger set of buildings on a raised hill that was for use as a hold out location during an assault, complete with a Command Post, and a GDI Armory, where a group of Zone Troopers were trapped by the Scrin's star fighters, dubbed "Stormriders" by their ability to "Ride" Ion Storms.

Creeping south, they noticed a massive pile of wrecked Predator tanks, all jumbled together in a makeshift fort. GDI infantry were spewing lasers out to try and kill the Shock Troopers spewing Plasma discs back at them. Ahsoka rushed forward, Fullerton right behind her, and together, the Shock Troopers who attempted to stop them were massacred with brutal efficiency as Ahsoka engaged them in melee while Fullerton spewed Rail Carbine rounds into the heads.

More Shock Troopers teleported in, and Disintegrators also charged forward to attack the two. More Infantry took cover behind various wreckage as the firefight began.

In the Republic, in a Galaxy Far, Far, Away, tales were still told of how a soldier and a Jedi working together was one of the unstoppable combinations in the galaxy. It had been recreated by the Clone Army that had been commissioned, what Rex was originally born for, and the still-surviving Jedi. This natural bond had continued through generations… and now, such a tradition was reborn once more, on a planet that had little in the way of space capability in comparison, where the Jedi didn't even exist.

Ahsoka and Fullerton evolved into an unstoppable force as the battle continued, more Scrin rushing in to join the battle. Disintegrators and Shock Troopers alike fell to the two, by either lightsaber or by Rail Carbine, as they began to anticipate each other's moves and compliment them with their own. Like two dancers they maneuvered gracefully, creating an unavoidable wall of death for the attacking Scrin.

Ahsoka slashed through another Shock Trooper, then she glanced; Fullerton was attaching a grenade launcher under-sling to his carbine. Ahsoka glanced at a large group of Disintegrators, and Force pushed them into the wreckage of a Mammoth Tank; Fullerton fired the grenade, and blew them all up. Fullerton then blasted a trio of Shock Troopers towards Ahsoka, and as they flew towards her, out of control, she slashed through them, the green sludge-like blood staining her armor as she finished the third slash.

Finally, the aliens gave way, the last few Disintegrators collapsing from a burst of rail carbine fire from Fullerton, and so ceased their assault. The ZOCOM soldiers came out of their cover.

"Come on," Ahsoka said, catching her breath, "We need to get to the base."

"Check that, Ahsoka." Fullerton said after reloading.

However, standing between them and the base, where the sonic crystals were made, was an alien tripod.

"Ahsoka, cover me!" Fullerton said, pulling a C4 cartridge from his bandoleer.

Ahsoka rushed forward, hurling her lightsaber at the Tripod, which leaned out of the way and attempted to blast her with its rays. However, it missed, and suddenly, it turned as it heard the sound of a Jump Jet engaging, the lightsaber coming back and cutting off one of it's gun arms.

Fullerton, flying down, landed on the leg of the Tripod, and stuck a C4 cartridge onto the leg, right on the inside. He jump jetted off and pressed the detonate button. The C4 exploded, and the tripod screamed as it came tumbling down to Earth.

"The bigger they are," Fullerton said, grinning under his helmet, "The _harder_ they fall!"

Ahsoka, holding her lightsaber (deactivated), walked up to the tripod… she had never seen one up close. She expanded her awareness, focusing on the tripod. She felt something… different. A unique form of life, neither entirely biological nor mechanical… but a born mix.

"This…" Ahsoka said, surprised, "This things a living creature… born and bred to fight…"

Fullerton glanced at it, but no sympathy was in his faceplate. And Ahsoka didn't blame him at all.

"Wanna put it out of its misery?" Fullerton asked, offering his Rail Carbine.

Ahsoka shook her head. "Let's get to the base."

Blasting the fence open with a shove of the Force, Ahsoka stepped into the powered down base. She walked into its Technology Center, and reactivated it after a quick rewiring.

The base online, Ahsoka pulled up a tactical map and reconnected the base's EVA to the mainstream GDI command.

A bullet sped past her head as she walked to check the rest of the base; Ahsoka whirled around, lightsaber in hand…

XXXX

**Sydney City Wall**

**Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

The Legendary Insurgent looked over her deploying forces; standard Nod militant forces with the new Tiberium Infusion for the most part, but she was given access to the best Shadows available for the infiltration of the GDI facilities with the launch codes.

"Alright Commander;" Ajay said, "Officially, we're going to take out what our recovered Intel on these 'Invaders' we have says that we're taking out the 'Portals', 'Warp Spheres', and 'Gravity Stabilizers'. Unofficially, we're making sure the stabilizers don't go out so quickly; we need a breach in the Sydney walls, and nothing breaches those babies faster then those alien ships. If they cause too much trouble, knock one out, but the aliens seem to be trying to take out the walls and the base nearby."

"Got it Ajay, we're deploying our base now."

"Oh, by the way; you're cleared to call in the big guns now; Kilian's ordered our Tiberium Fuel-Air bombs to be used; considering the Aliens seem to love Tiberium, that's probably for the best. Just knock out any anti-air defenses before calling it in."

"Hope McNeil doesn't mind we're dropping a spin-off of Divination on the aliens then…"

"Heh." Ajay answered, in a tone that suggested he didn't know if it was funny or not.

XXXX

**ZOCOM Sonic Crystal Lab**

**Stuttgart, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka saw a civilian, terrified, holding a common civilian sidearm and pointing it at her.

"Back… BACK you alien scum!" the man shouted, clearly unnerved and not taking chances. He fired another round, which Ahsoka parried into the floor harmlessly.

She heard a couple guns cocking behind her; she glanced, and GDI soldiers walked in, guns loaded.

"What's going on?" asked Fullerton, aiming his carbine as he walked in.

"Misunderstanding," Ahsoka said, as the man lowered his gun, relieved at the sight of GDI.

"Sorry… but so many people are taking cover in here, we don't want _them_ to find us, that's why we shut the place down, so they wouldn't notice us." The man explained. "I know GDI probably needs it but… well… there wasn't really anybody left in here…"

"Say… how many of you are willing to fight these aliens?" Fullerton asked.

"A lot of us, Lieutenant, just give us a gun to fire and we'll go Nod on 'em."

"Haha, I like your enthusiasm kid, but no need to get massacred like 'em Noddies, I'll program some flash training and give you a crash course before we hit the Invaders hard." Fullerton said, then he turned to Ahsoka, "Take one of the engineers the ZOCOM ladies had and get that War Factory up an' runnin', I'd like to have something more than infantry."

Ahsoka nodded. GDI Flash Training allowed them to give people a crash course in weapons training if they needed to, in a pinch, recruit soldiers from local towns and get them into combat. Nod used a similar program as its main course to train its militants, but GDI took more time, usually taking an hour or two at the least rather than showing them a training video, giving them a gun, and sending them to war. It was no substitute for proper GDI training, and often the infantry produced by it tended to be by far lower quality than that of a full GDI training regiment. But still, Commanders were allowed to recruit from the locals, pending paperwork was filled out and there wasn't any forced conscription. Of course, with what was going on, paperwork was the least of their concerns.

Ahsoka and one of the engineers they found began to get the base's War Factory back into operation, fixing wiring here, replacing metal plates there, and generally fixing it up. 20 minutes later, it was back online, if battered. Ahsoka walked outside to check on how things were going.

Fullerton was correcting a young man, barely out of his teens, in how to fire and reload a GD-2 Rifle. Ahsoka walked up, and Fullerton nodded. "I'll be busy here getting them ready, you go ahead and rescue the other fellers trapped in the city. By the by, the ZOCOM Shatterers are being produced out of the War Factory, got a few tank crewmen teaching people they think can drive the controls. It ain't the proper design though; it's a recreation of the old Disruptor since we can't get hovertech activated."

Ahsoka nodded to Fullerton, then got several soldiers together, armed with GD-2 Rifles and Missile Launchers. They encountered nothing as they moved towards the Assault Base.

_Guess they're regrouping._ Ahsoka decided, honestly relieved not to be facing more of the aliens yet.

As she walked up the hill, she could really see how much damage the city had taken: Massive craters in multiple locations where tank battles occurred in the city. The city itself was a bleak landscape of burnt and ruined buildings scattered across the landscape. Rebuilding was going to take a long time… assuming humanity survived. She glanced towards the streets; then suddenly realized: _The streets were littered with dead civilians!_

"Son of a…" she exclaimed as she realized it.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" asked a ZOCOM sergeant uncomfortably.

"I…" She shook her head, trying to force the picture out of her mind.

"Yeah, unnerves me too…" the Sergeant said, "Can't believe how many people died…"

Ahsoka nodded, then she walked into the Assault Base's command post and checked the electronics, focusing on the repairs to distract her, she got to work. _All main access fried… secondary power fried… time to hotwire._

Busting open control panels, she began to cross still-intact wiring and reconnect circuits to working condition. Fifteen minutes and a lot of back up wire and sparks in her face later, the power returned, and the Assault Base activated. _I'm glad Skyguy taught me how to hotwire just about anything… sure comes in handy._

"Nice one, Tano!" Fullerton said to her via radio, "That'll give the aliens somethin' to think about if they try to interrupt us. Alright, let's find the remaining troops out there and put the final nail in these invaders' coffin!"

Recently trained GDI Infantry came out of the GDI base, several tank-like vehicles with sonic cannons mounted on top also rolled out. It was a more advanced version of the 2nd Tiberium War GDI _Disruptor_, the original application of Harmonic Resonance, better known as Sonics. Although it was likely that after the battle, these slow moving behemoths would be decommissioned and scrapped into more modern Shatterers, hover tanks with similar function, for now, this was what they had.

Ahsoka took point, heading west. She spotted the Stormriders harassing the Zone Troopers, and focused on one… she sensed it's 'pilot' yelping to his wingmen in surprise, as Ahsoka yanked it down to Earth, showing what a Jedi can do… with time.

Which the two remaining Stormriders had no intention of giving her. As they blazed plasma bolts at her, she ignited her lightsaber, deflecting the bolts back at them. She caught a Stormrider in the fuselage, causing it to dive into the ground and crash. The other flew off, heading north to the alien base.

"Zone Trooper Delta-Niner, thanks for the save. Armory comin' online for ya now."

"No problem." Ahsoka responded. "Fullerton, what's the word on the aliens?"

"They're regroupin' to make a stand at their base. There's a Sonic Emitter array pointed at their face that's shut down, originally 'cause we got rid of the Tib and didn't need the emitters anymore, but we need 'em now if what you said about the aliens being weak against them is true. I got engineers ready to rush over and reactivate it once we distract these alien scum."

Overhead, Firehawks and Stormriders began to dogfight again. On the ground however, GDI Missile Troopers were aiming at the Stormriders, sending their missiles, aiding the Firehawks in establishing air superiority for GDI. The dogfights began to end as the Stormriders were blown down.

"Let's rock 'em then." Ahsoka said, heading north. As she went north, she felt a surprised presence probe her mind. Finally, as she took cover near the clearing that the sonic emitter western array was, she saw a Scrin infantry unit which she didn't recognize; it was shaped like a Earth-born spider, except extremely oversized and it has what seemed to be a glowing eye right above it's stunted head (in comparison to Earth's spiders). It saw her, and she felt shock; it suddenly looked at her and gestured. Suddenly, some mental presence launched itself at her, causing her to stop, immobilized as she wrestled with it.

_Who are you… you are not of this planet!_ The surprised presence thought to her, then, _You surely cannot be… There is no precedent for Her presence being connected to this planet… Traveler-59 must be informed at once…_

The presence suddenly disconnected, as if it realized it had shared thoughts with Ahsoka. She blinked, confused, putting a hand on her head; she saw whatever the new alien Infantryman was run off to the alien landing ship and disappear within.

"Alright, let's end this. Ahsoka, you in position?" Fullerton asked by radio.

"Huh… oh, yeah, in position and ready to rock." Ahsoka quickly replied, jolted out of wondering what it was she just felt.

Immediately, Fullerton jump-jetted into the field, where a bunch of alien Gun Walkers, hover tanks, disintegrators, and Shock Troopers were waiting, and Ahsoka leapt high, and came landing next to Fullerton, igniting her lightsaber challengingly at the invaders.

They all paused, is if confounded by what was confronting them, even fearful in some cases. Ahsoka glanced at Fullerton as more guns (or their alien analogue) were pointed at them; _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…_

Fullerton just grinned as he looked at the aliens. One of them finally shouted something in their buzzing language, and the aliens realized they were supposed to be _shooting_.

Then, a sonic wave rippled across the field from a Disruptor, killing several Gun Walkers then and there. The aliens immediately attacked as GDI forces, revealing their position and that they had them surrounded, rushed out to meet them. The Sonic Emitter array then came online, waves of sound decimating and containing the Scrin, who fell back to their base.

The structures were insectoid in their appearance, there were portals, bringing in reinforcements via some form of wormhole, power generators that seemed to be powering them, hives containing many Buzzers, small hand-like objects spewing forth more Plasma Discs, and in the center, one of the landing ships the aliens had used.

GDI pushed forward, Ahsoka and Fullerton taking point and once more destroying all in their path. No alien infantry dared stand in their way. Disintegrators rushed out to meet them and Ahsoka slashed through all of them.

XXX

**Sydney City Wall**

**Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"Alien units are rushing the GDI base; mostly infantry and buzzers." Reported a Buggy driver, "Gunnin' 'em down, but we need some more!"

"Confirm, I got a… Yeahahahahahaaa!" complied an Attack Bike driver before being obliterated by a stray friendly-fire from a Scorpion tank.

"Understood," the Insurgent said from her Construction Yard's command post, "Wrath Battalion, move up to support on my mark."

She watched as the Scrin first wave, almost wholly infantry with some of their hover tanks supporting them, moved towards the GDI base, crossing through a former area where a number of mutants, known as the Forgotten, had once inhabited until the Scrin drove them out. The Insurgent shook her head, _GDI denies their precious Blue Zones even to their allies, yet now they come to us for help._

"What the… Alien ships incoming for our base!" shouted a militant, then there was a scream on his end. Cursing, the Insurgent brought up that area of the battlefield. Stag-like aircraft were coming forth, and in front was a screen of fighters that she didn't recognize.

"Stealth Tanks, target that enemy aircraft carrier!" the Insurgent ordered, "Justacar battalion, engage the Scrin within the old factory complex between us and their base; take out the enemy portal there. Ajay, I need a Vertigo squadron and a Venom squadron."

"Copy that, I'm pulling strings now; hold on," Ajay said, typing furiously into his computer.

The aliens moved up their Gun Walkers as the militants garrisoned the old factory buildings.

XXX

**Scrin Base**

**Munich, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Fullerton laughed, mixed with a cough, as he ripped apart another group of Disintegrator squads. He watched Ahsoka slashing through them, leaving nothing but rapidly decaying and (sometimes) bleeding husks behind as she cut through with her blade.

The Gun Walkers and hover tanks fell apart under the pounding of missiles from GDI soldiers and Rail Guns from Zone Troopers. Finally, the Disruptors lined up, and charged for full power…

Their sonic weapons roared across the surface of the Earth, lacing with menace towards the drop ship, and collided with it. It fell apart, bleeding a greenish blood as if collapsed. It fell apart entirely, destroyed. The Disruptors proceeded to destroy the last of the base.

Across the city, soldiers cheered as the aliens were wiped to the last, their dead bodies littering the street. GDI began to gather the bodies of their dead, separating them from the alien dead. Ahsoka had to avert her eyes several times at some of the weaponry that the aliens used, especially it's after effects. After the clean up, she activated her wrist EVA unit's radio;

"Lieutenant Ahsoka Tano to GDI Command, mission accomplished. Invaders occupying Stuttgart were wiped out to the last."

"GDI Command to Lieutenant Tano, great work. Stand by in Stuttgart for rendezvous coordinates with Commander Rex."

"Copy that."

Ahsoka hung up. Fullerton, covered in a considerable amount of blood and gore, yet completely unfazed by it, walked up to her, Rail Carbine hung at his hip, bouncing dangerously along.

"Gotta hand it to you kid," Fullerton said, clasping her shoulder, "I'm damn impressed. You should be proud of yourself, you outdid me, and I'm a damn veteran _commando_. Good to know that GDI's in good hands in the future. Ca'mon, we found an old GDI storage bunker loaded to the brim with some of Germany's finest ale, vintage 1995, and Tib free. Why don't you share a glass with us before we get back to kickin' these aliens while they're down? Everyone needs a drink."

Ahsoka considered briefly, the alien contact entering her mind resurfacing… _There's something more going on… a mix up or something…_

"Sure, lead the way." She said at last, clipping her lightsaber to her belt and dusting off briefly; though she knew that she'd need to get the 'blood' stained armor cleaned (as she had no clue weather it was actually alien blood, or some form of fluid like in a robot).

"Ya'know, these aliens are interesting, 'cording to one of the engineers."

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked.

"We aren't sure if these infantry are some form of robots or aliens themselves."

"I'm somehow hoping for robots, if you ask me." She shook her head, _No, they're not robots, if you feel them die, and beyond just energy fading, then they have to be living…_

"Well, whatever," Fullerton said, "Unless it means we have a new gun that can rip them apart, it's not much of a useful fact. Anyways; for a Talon, you're pretty good."

"I thought ZOCOM commandos leaned to the Steel Talons."

"Usually, but I find Mitchell to be a bit too hot-headed at times, and relies far too much on old classics."

"They work."

XXXX

**Sydney City Wall Battlefield**

**Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"Ajay, where the hell are those reinforcements?" the Insurgent asked as the militants were cleansed from the old factories by buzzer swarms; she was readying the battalion's contingent of Black Hand disciples to incinerate the swarms while Buggies were gathered to shoot the aliens… a new wave of Scorpion tanks had arrived and would engage in a tank battle at the factory, but she needed air support desperately as the enemy fighters moved towards her forces, strafing them with little countering as they had seemed to learn to take out Attack Bikes first.

"Stand by commander, they're en route, have an Air Tower ready."

"I know, I know… Ajay, I want a mine drop between the GDI base and the aliens, drop it on the aliens."

"Copy that, orders sent, mines set to harm aliens only… your air support should be here by now."

"_Amensia squadron reporting, Commander. Vertigos are ready."_

"Copy that, I'm sending you coordinates for your targets. Chose which pilot makes the run."

"_Yes ma'am."_

The Vertigos began their run, blasting the alien portal and photon cannon defenses; none of which was outfitted to handle aircraft. Venom flew over and strafed the enemy infantry while Nod's Scorpion tanks rolled up and secured the factory complex, running over the dead aliens and Nod soldiers.

An Armageddon bomber, Nod's super-fast bomber designed to drop specialized payloads, or, occasionally, carpet bombing runs. It flew over and dropped a spray of mines; alien grunts rushed forward, only to explode as they stepped on the mines.

"**Incoming transmission."**

General McNeil appeared, "Not bad, 'Insurgent', not bad, but we have a long way to go."

"Hey, you wanted our help."

"That what Kilian told you?" McNeil asked, surprised, and genuinely so, but only for a moment.

"So, where's your Ion cannon?"

"_Classified_, Commander. I hope I don't have to explain why."

She suppressed a growl and the insult that was biting to be used. _GDI and their bureaucracy… and they say McNeil hated it._

"Ma'am," reported the Venom squadron leader, "we gunned down the enemy fighters, but their carriers are... what the... _those carriers are breeding fighters! Son of a Mammoth!_"

XXXX

**Author's Notes: Again, for the revision of the fic, I'm adding Nod scenes into the mix to help establish timeline for the fanfic and to explore the other side a bit more. Won't be in as much detail, but it'll be more.**


	11. Chapter 11: Roll Out

_These humans have considerable technology… they are split between a Level V civilization with a 31.8 million population, and a Level IV Civilization with 54.2 million population, and seem to be able to fight each other on equal terms. We must destroy the Level V civilization, this, "Global Defense Initiative", cripple their mechanized walkers so they must fight with their primitive tanks. Foreman 234, you are assigned to destroy the facility belonging to the Global Defense Initiative "Steel Talons" Cult. Foreman 235 from the Traveler Cult will target the Level IV civilization, this, "Brotherhood of Nod", at what we believe to be their main base in a city with the local name of "Kampala". Eliminate all enemy units and report back, ensure to rend their flesh for their resistance._

- Reaper 17 to a Cult of the Reaper Foreman, on Earth's military strength.

_Ichor-LQ Concentrations 77.3 below expected levels… 18.6 of surface Ichor in reaping condition… only 5.3 of deposits suitable for offload to Ichor Hub._

- Scrin readout on the amount of Tiberium, and its quality, on Earth, recovered by Nod during a skirmish in the Yukon Territory; Canada

**Chapter 11: Roll Out**

**Steel Talon European HQ**

**Deutschland, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Red looked at the holomap on the side of his new Titan. Things were not looking good. The aliens had pinned his forces down in the city and were swarming him with advanced armor. The base's defenses, Guardian Cannons retrofitted with Rail Guns, Watchtowers with the new Armor-Piercing grade bullets, AA turrets with Tungsten rounds, were working overtime and the facilities' ability to manufacture munitions from a nearby, contained, Tiberium field was pushed to the limit. Rex had managed to punch through the invaders with his forces and take command of the facility with little difficulty, but now he had to hold the line and turn the tables. A good chunk of the power was blown, forcing them to work at partial efficiency. Stevenson, who arrived with McCarthy and the others at Munich, got the ConYard at the base working and was trying to get the base back into full operation.

The enemy were about to launch a renewed attack. "All units report in!" Rex called out to his Titan squadron.

"Guardian Two, standing by."

"Guardian Three, locked and loaded."

"Guardian Four, ready to ground and pound!"

"Guardian Five, standing live."

"Guardian Six, standing by."

"Guardian Seven, awaiting deployment."

"Guardian Eight, ready as always."

"Guardian Nine, and I mean _yes_." Said Heinrich.

"Lieutenant Granger, how you doing?" Rex asked, changing his radio frequency.

"Raiders and Troopers are all ready to go." Sarah responded, the hum of her new Zone armor audible through the radio.

"McCarthy, how's your end?" Rex asked.

"We're ready for the next wave, entrenched and we can hold 'em back. Told the men to aim for those buzzers first, since they seem to be able to clean us out of foxholes and the like."

"Good call." Rex sent orders to the various officers, "Alright, here comes the next wave. Fire at Will!"

Several loud thuds roared as the Titans opened fire at the incoming attackers. Rex magnified his binoculars, and almost jolted as he looked at the enemy. The "Gun Walkers" the invaders had been deploying, this version was a heavily mutated, sickly green looking, and with no head, but instead a hole… and shards of Tiberium came flying out of the maw.

"Holy crap, those things are spewing out shards!" shouted a GDI soldier, then static was heard on his end.

"Guardian Cannons, vape those frackin' shard walkers or whatever they are!" Rex ordered hotly as he brought his cannon around to shoot at the walkers.

"Readjusting Guardian Cannons, Commander." reported a technician. The cannons shifted their aim, the Rail Guns proving brutally effective, blasting entire Gun, or, in this case, Shard Walker apart and dead with a direct hit, or at the least crippling one of them.

"Rex, watch your flank, some sort of heavy hover tank!" shouted Tex, and Rex turned his Titan, and saw what she was talking about: An alien battle tank that resembled a more human main battle tank, but a hovercraft, charged up it's cannon and fired at Rex's Titan. An alert went off as the left leg of his Titan began to wobble. Rex returned the favor by shooting a Rail-Gun round at the tank. The tank buckled, hovering to the side as it seemed to hurt and bleed. Tex shot at it, blasting another hole into it. Finally, a Guardian Cannon ended the tank's existence, causing it to collapse in several burning pieces.

"Heh, the aliens certainly are throwing a lot at us, we got tripods incoming!" shouted McCarthy, then he stuttered, "what the- those look like they got some sorta Tib charging system! TAKE COVER!"

These different Tripods opened fire. Instead of multi colored with a purplish white hue, as regular Tripods had been reported to fire, a sickly green beam was laced out, causing considerable damage to a Guardian Cannon.

"Focus on the joint, firing marker at the lead Tripod!" Rex shouted, switching his armament to a tracer round, which other Titans or Guardian Cannons could follow for focused fire. Rex fired, scoring a hit. Then, five beams of blue light lanced across the field, striking the Tripod in a sweet spot. It screamed and collapsed as the power of the GDI Rail Guns brought it to its end.

"Target the tripods; they'll cause the most damage!" Rex ordered, focusing fire on another Tripod. Lightning streaked across the landscape, and the ground battle ensued. Stormriders flew all over the place, keeping the AA batteries on alert… but fortunately, none of the heavier alien aircraft had been sighted yet. Rex was counting his blessings while he could… he didn't think they'd be able to take much more.

Alien infantry rushed forward, and Wolverine battle walkers rushed up to engage them, ripping apart the infantry. The AP upgrade was giving the Wolverine a key advantage against hordes of infantry. Several more of those 'Shard Walkers' came up as well, as well as light hover tanks… with green Tiberium amplifying their attacks, as they too began to spit shards at GDI.

But the superior armor of the Steel Talon's battle walkers proved to be more than a match for the smaller walkers. The Tripods gave them trouble, knocking reinforcing Titans and stomping on over courageous Predator Tanks as they advanced, the latter stomped on like soda cans.

XXX

**Sydney City Wall**

**Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"The wall is down, I repeat, the city wall is _down!_" shouted one of the militant squads supporting McNeil at the GDI base… and also stationed there to watch when the walls fell, and fell they did as the Alien cruisers barraged the walls with more discs per second then a militant army spewed out in bullets per second. The walls collapsed like a stack of cards under the barrage.

"Good, send in the strike team." the Insurgent said, turning back to the battlefield and clasping her fingers together; she had taken heavy losses, particularly amongst her militant forces and scout vehicles. Suddenly, there was a warning light and a pair of Venom craft pulled out of a radius…

And two triangle-shaped craft descended from orbit, and even from the base, she could hear the resulting super-sonic _thud_; the alien cruisers exploded as the supersonic _whatever_ GDI just used hit, as did the cruisers' fighter escorts. She glanced back at the factory; another wave of alien fighters had launched from the alien airborne aircraft carriers. She opened a link to McNeil, to distract him in case he was checking for Nod trickery in the city itself.

"What is it, Commander?" McNeil asked, "I have my own problems right now."

"There's a group of alien ships creating enemy fighters; I was wondering if you had another supersonic strike available."

"No… EVA, sonic barrage; send the coordinates, I'm going to launch an arty barrage at them."

She sent them, "Alright, where do you want a Tiberium fuel-air bomb? Only fair."

"Drop it on those alien tripods advancing through the middle; we're holding on the ridge, so feel free to carpet bomb the middle until we make our counter attack."

She nodded, sending the coordinates to the Armageddon bomber that would deliver the payload; she glanced towards the alien carriers as EVA marked an GDI artillery beacon under the carriers.

"Holy crap, those carriers are going _down!_ Man, those things are fragile!" shouted a militant officer as GDI's sonic artillery came crashing down on the alien carriers; shut down and with electronics offline, the enemy carriers fell down to earth and exploded.

"Still, this is nuts," said another militant officer, "We're helping GDI? Pfeh, Kane would have never sanctioned this."

"Agreed," answered the first officer, the two seeming unaware they were on the command channel, "Kilian is _helping_ these fools when she _should_ have been _destroying_ them."

"That's enough, you two, save it for the Hand. Now, take your squads and annihilate that portal before you have another wave to deal with. Scorpion Squad TT-41, enter the right flank and target the enemy hover tanks."

"Yes ma'am."

"**Obelisk ready for deployment."** Reported her EVA unit.

"Good, deploy it next to the Tiberium field between us and the aliens."

The obelisk was deployed after a Nod supply truck placed the respective module, and the Obelisk sprang to proverbial life. The nearby Nod soldiers cheered as they watched it obliterate an alien hover tank that had pushed up the left flank by simple rolling over the militant riflemen.

XXX

**Deutschland, Germany**

**Steel Talon Base**

**Blue Zone B-1**

"Behemoth emerging!" reported someone back at the Steel Talon base. Rex glanced over. Behemoths were coming out of the War Factory, the recently trained crews crewing them, and missile troopers getting inside its bunker.

"Good, let's pound these things into the ground!" Rex said as several more Titans, also fresh from the Talon's factories, joined him on the front. The Behemoths moved up, and deployed their legs to allow them to fire. They opened fire, the 250 millimeter upgrade to the Behemoth's armaments proving to be more than enough to blast entire groups of aliens away. But, like frenzied warriors the aliens continued to charge, despite being blown across the field by heavy cannons, shredded by a hailstorm of lasers and bullets, or even crushed by falling debris and other dead aliens.

The storm began to clear, and Firehawks flew in, unleashing their Rattlesnake missiles against the Stormriders. As they engaged in dogfights, Rex noticed that the Talon Space Command Uplink was back online with the power plants repaired. One of the Talon's experimental Orbital Bombardment cannons, the idea being several superheated slugs over a blast of ionized energy, was moved into position in orbit. They had already been tested on Temple Prime, and while they hadn't dented the main building, they had blasted a considerable amount of the complex to scrap during their barrage.

"Stevenson, target Orbital Bombardment at the alien base." Rex ordered.

"Affirmative, targeting their drop ship."

In the sky, a streak of fire rained down. But rather than an explosion as a warhead went off, a simple thud. The alien landing ship collapsed as the slug's shockwave began to rip through its core, a massive, gaping hole in the center. The ship began to fall apart as its structural integrity was compromised, the various parts falling off.

"Another slug'll be ready in three minutes!" Stevenson alerted Rex.

The aliens skidded to a halt, looking into the sky, surprised at the enemy's ability to rain such metal down upon them. They then began to charge once more. More Titans formed up, and Wolverines were right behind them, Mobile Repair Transports directly behind them with their drones ready to keep the walkers working.

"Thanks, alright Steel Talons, _form up!_ We're going on the offensive!" Rex ordered. "Lieutenant Granger, Sergeant McCarthy, you're infantry will come in after the armor and pick the aliens off one-by-one. Wipe them out."

The Titans advanced, literally stomping atop of the aliens as needed. Wolverines had their Armor-Piercing chain guns in over time to blunt the advance, and the infantry behind them keeping the push strong, the pressure pushing into the aliens as the GDI forces pushed them into the large park between their base and the Steel Talon base.

XXXX

McCarthy ducked as another disc exploded and took out another rifleman; _aliens are loosing, but damn they don't take it well._ He flicked an empty clip out and shoved another one in, then opened fire.

"Harold, Ted, Gree, go up the left, rest of you, with me," he said to his squad of six (including him), and they split as they advanced up a large fence, focusing fire and ripping enemy infantry apart before they got close enough to use their short-range disintegration beams.

"Sarge, Buzzers!"

McCarthy whirled around and fired, his GD-2 sending accelerated bullets which plastered into the buzzer swarms; several swarms exploded and dropped dead as their reported sentience died.

"Infantry, secure the park and stand by for the final push. Armor units, we're going on the offensive at the alien base." Rex ordered, "Zone infantry, support the walkers."

McCarthy nodded, "Alright men, you heard him, set up for the push."

He looked up and watched, for a few seconds, as the Firehawks that arrived flew over and opened fire on the enemy fighters.

XXXX

It became clear how much the tables had turned now the offense was blunted. The aliens tried to regroup from their loss in the park, but were incapable of doing so. Firehawks kept the air battle in favor of the Talons, while the superior firepower of the Steel Talon walker divisions was more than enough to blast aliens out of the way. They advanced, pushing through the alien lines. Rex was quite surprised to see how such a simple field base had such religious overtones… Tiberium in various shapes and forms decorated the buildings, and from the looks of ravaged flesh scattered about the area… there was some serious carnage… but if it was for ritual purpose or just casualties of war… he couldn't tell. Maybe both.

The Titans and Behemoths, the latter of which had moved closer for harsher pounding, began demolishing the base, leaving only wreckage behind. They wiped out all portals to bring in reinforcements even as they were bringing forth more.

However, a group of Shock Troopers got a shot where the left leg of Rex's Titan, which was damaged, it broke, causing the Titan to collapse. As it collapsed, Rex punched the top hatch open and leapt out, landing on top of it once it hit the ground. He grunted and leapt off just before it exploded and threw him forward.

A Zone Raider rushed up and pulled him out of the way of a falling piece of debris, then knelt next to him, checking for wounds.

"You alright, Commander?" she asked.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" Rex grunted, looking at his rescuer. It was Sarah Granger. "Thanks for the save, Lieutenant."

"No problem, think you can finish this off?"

Rex pulled out his dual pistols, "With pleasure." He opened his radio channels, "All units, advance and destroy the base. Leave nothing standing. Artillery, watch for infantry. Use common sense." Joining the Infantry rush and coordinating the attack, Rex kept mowing down alien infantry as they came out of their holes. He emptied his pistols' clips as some new type of infantry unit rushed out of a portal, and he nailed all three with the repeated pistol hits before the Titan fire obliterated the flimsy portal and destroyed it.

He reloaded, and saw a GDI rifleman get eaten alive by the Buzzers, screaming as the fly-like swarm went through him and into the vulnerable joints in the body armor and fly out, reforming into the swarm… Rex took the shot and fired the buzzers, all of them dropping dead. He whirled around, and noticed a Disintegrator crawling up to him. Rex just shot it, then turned his pistols towards the next squad of disintegrators, a rifle squad coming up next to him and helping him wipe it out effortlessly. _If only we could win as easily as we took out that squad,_ Rex wished briefly, before turning his mind back to the battle.

At long last, the city was quiet save for the sound of GDI machinery and soldiers. The fight had come to an end, with many, many dead aliens, and GDI soldiers, scattered across the battlefield… as was the wreckage of so many vehicles of war, alien and Steel Talon. He glanced at one dead soldier, a former Wolverine pilot, who was sprawled next to his machine, the cockpit broken as his restraints failed; bleeding over his whole body and Rex was sure he saw a missing left finger.

_And I thought I had pretty much left this behind,_ Rex thought as he looked at it, memories of the Clone Wars and their fierce battles coming back to him.

"Commander, we took some heavy casualties," reported a medical officer via radio, knocking him out of his thoughts, "The aliens' initial attack killed a lot of the garrison, and out of your reinforcements, the casualties were lighter, but still considerable, still counting, sir, but they're high."

"How many men total?" Rex asked.

"I can't give you an exact, but from the garrison, maybe nine hundred soldiers and crewmen. Of your forces, three hundred and fifty, but we're still counting."

Rex cursed. That was a good two fifths of his makeshift battalion's force, and the base was almost depleted. GDI was going to need to raise a new army in a hurry, before the aliens regrouped and regained the advantage. And he knew that that never went well; the Clone Army was made in 10 years, but they had to be grown a double-speed; even then, while certainly better, they still weren't ready, especially with the frontal battles they got into. "I know it's probably redundant to order this, but tend to the wounded. I'll be over once I check in with my officers to help with recovery."

The medic hung up. McCarthy and Sarah were walking up, transmitters in hand, and clearly checking casualties themselves… but a look of surprise on McCarthy's face indicated something more.

"Sir," McCarthy saluted, "we found something… interesting in the wreckage of the alien's command center."

McCarthy put it on his screen, and Rex looked at it. It was data… and by the looks of it, readable. A translation was at the bottom.

"**Traveler-59 reports that one of his mind-scouts reported an encounter with Her. If She is present, capture Her alive. This planet has more to it than an advanced species and Ichor, proceed with caution, Foreman 234."**

Rex blinked. "What do you make of it?"

"I'd say," Sarah said, "That we might of found our first evidence of these aliens' religion."

"If the Tib on the buildings was any indication, I'd say we just beat up their equivalent of Nod." McCarthy snorted. "I'm going to go back and check on the rest of the troops, you coming, Commander?"

"Yes, certainly." Rex said, nodding to Sarah briefly.

XXXX

**Sydney City Wall**

**Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"Codes acquired, Commander." Reported a Shadow, "We're exfiltrating now."

"Copy that, Shadow One."

"Hang on… whoa." Ajay said from his recently established post in King's Canyon, "Take out the new target I was given, from an 'unidentified source', but the authorization code checks out. A new target for the shadows."

"What's the order?"

"Knock out GDI's Ion Cannon bunker in the area."

She paused, rocking back slightly in her chair, lifting it off its legs as she considered.

"You said the authorization fully checks out?"

"Yes; Source is unknown, but it's coming from _Basilisk Actual_."

"Then tell the shadows to follow the orders."

XXXX

Sergeant Harris Donnelly stifled a yawn; stationed at the Ion Control Center near the base, he had expected to be sent out to help fight, especially after he had helped against the initial hit on Sydney by a fly-by alien group, but he was stationed at the Ion Control Center instead. _Thank God for that; I really don't like the look of those odds, and even on the flyby those aliens really did a number._

"Sir," said one of the other guards, "You see something? Over there?" the soldier pointed. He looked.

"Nah, probably just the wind. Just be glad we weren't stationed outside eh? Freaking aliens are damn scary, wouldn't want to face 'em."

Suddenly, he saw a shadow move… he heard a silenced _**bang**_, felt something rip through his neck and he collapsed, faceplate first, to the ground, dropping his rifle, and his vision clouded into black as he arched in pain, but he couldn't scream; his windpipe had been literally shot in half.

XXXX

The Insurgent glanced at the transmitter, expecting McNeil to appear on it at any moment in pure outrage, spewing death threats; or just ordering a GDI assault on the Nod base with their heavy artillery and blowing her to hell.

"**Ion Control Destroyed."** Reported her EVA unit, and the Insurgent braced herself…

XXXX

"_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, _**IT WASN'T NOD**?" McNeil shouted at the top of his lungs at Kilian, "The Ion Control just exploded, and if you can't explain why there was a Nod shadow there, then I'm ready to blow _you_ to hell."

"You wouldn't dare," Kilian answered.

"You know I don't make idle threats; once these aliens are pounded, you'd be next."

"Damn it, Mack," Kilian responded, shouting, "This isn't the time, I'm just as confused as you are!"

"I want all your units to stay the _hell_ away from GDI bases when on the battlefield and your forces are not to enter bunkers with my men, near my men, or damn well in a place where they could shoot them from behind. I'm warning you, _Kilian_, if I see so much as a Nod _fingernail_ in a GDI building or base, I'll shoot you _and_ your damn followers. AM I UNDERSTOOD?"

Kilian simply stared back, "I understand; but this is _not my fault!_"

"Then find out whose fault it is, and I _want their heads_. Literally, I want the heads of the bastards who did that, mail it to me or something."

McNeil's EVA operator gave him a surprised look as the transmission cut, McNeil sighed, the burden bearing down on him, _How could I of been so stupid to not station a better guard there? I should of seen that coming…_

"Uh, sir," said his EVA operator, "You may want to see this…"

McNeil looked at it; the Nod base was taking a full brunt assault, beyond any sort of show fight as the aliens brutally ripped through some of Nod's best soldiers deployed. And further back and in the air, several large Tiberium glaciers seemed to be being launched with some form of alien rocketry.

"Is the alien offensive blunted?"

"Towards Sydney, yes, they're reinforcement structures were disabled by the Nod attack; this is the alien's second wave."

McNeil nodded, "Order our troops to fall back to the city and prepare for phase two. Get me that so-called 'Insurgent.' And alert the civilians, I think the aliens are launching some form of Tiberium attack, I want civilians out of the city ASAP!"

XXXX

An explosion resonated from within the city; but where, the Insurgent did not know nor care; she had her own problems.

"Providence Battalion, fall back; Desert Rage company, hold the line… Vertigos, I want those alien walkers hit, target at Delta-Sierra-Echo." The Insurgent ordered as the aliens began their offensive on the Nod base; she knew she was outmatched here. _Have to fall back soon, the grunts might be willing to go suicidal, but we need some of our manpower once GDI leaves…_

"**Incoming Transmission."**

"Bit busy; who's it from?"

"**General McNeil."**

"Put it up… Have the Obelisk target the enemy walkers and I want those chem-spraying centipedes fried, launch a Tib Vapor Bomb."

"Commander," McNeil said, "We're beginning civilian evacuation, move your units back to the city and regroup; if your command hasn't already told you, stay the hell away from GDI military assets; we'll settle this _after_ we get the civilians to safety."

_Kilian is going to kill me_, the Insurgent thought as she relayed orders.

XXXX

As Rex helped with Search-and-Rescue operations, finding civilians trapped in cellars, soldiers who took cover, more often then not as lone troopers protecting a group of civilians, and even a few extra, wounded aliens who were in no mood for surrender… assuming Rex or GDI soldiers could communicate.

As they returned, Rex noticed Sarah had taken her helmet off… _She is beautiful…_ Rex thought, his mind drifting as her rich golden hair seemed to reflect the moonlight, _it's amazing how beautiful the universe is…_ He paused as the logical part of his brain kicked in. _Get a grip on yourself._

"Ow!" Rex shouted suddenly, as he walked into a wall. Several soldiers glanced over at him, and chuckled. "Yes yes… very funny…" Rex muttered. _Ah, they need a laugh. Times are hard. Still, I gotta save face, I'm an officer, after all._

"Something funny gentlemen?" Rex said, a slight grin crossing his face, "Did I miss a spot in my last shave, or did one of you tell a funnily dirty joke?"

The soldiers glanced at each other, then began to stutter as they tried to think of an excuse. Rex grinned then said, "Come on, you guys trying to hatch a Titan out of an egg or something? Find something to do to help out if you can."

The soldiers dispersed, still exchanging smirks. Face was saved for Rex, and they would probably do something helpful while they cleaned out the facility.

XXXX

**Nod Secondary Base**

**Downtown Sydney**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"Commander," Kilian demanded, "I want to know what the _hell_ you thought you were doing taking out GDI's Ion Cannon!"

"It was not me, General," the Insurgent coldly answered, "The Shadows received an order that checked out and they obeyed."

"This alliance is being pushed to the brink. Support GDI until they evacuate."

"What? Why?"

"Because, while GDI evacuates, I want you to use this as a chance to gather a war chest for the Brotherhood. The Invaders have detonated a form of Tiberium detonator in Sydney, as I hope you noticed, causing a considerable amount of underground Tiberium to force its way up near your base. Take this chance to harvest it and we can use it to restore our bases in Australia and ensure our troops and factories are well supplied."

"Understood."

XXXX

Rex went into the communications center and activated it.

"Commander," General Mitchell said, clearly in the cockpit of a Titan. "Mission successful?"

"Deutschland is safe and operational; we got our armor edge back." Rex reported.

"Good work, I'll let General Granger know the good news once he's clear, he's busy in New York keeping aliens off Lady Liberty and Fort Bradley, so he's gonna be out of contact for a while. Rex, consider the European theatre your operation, we're a bit busy ourselves."

"Understood, sir."

The link cut as Mitchell cursed at something.

XXXX

**The Next Day**

Ahsoka arrived at the base alongside Fullerton, and bringing with them Shatterers. The three went into the Command Center to discuss the next move against the Invaders. Sarah was already waiting for them, suited up and holding her helmet.

Rex pulled up the tactical screen of Europe… The invaders seemed to be in disarray as GDI regrouped…

Then a red dot appeared at Cologne.

"Ensign, what's going on over there?" Rex asked.

An ensign hurriedly typed, and satellite feed came up. Invaders were attacking Cologne… where the GDI Mammoth Tanks were manufactured in Northern Europe.

A screen appeared on the side, a GDI officer, by uniform a captain, was clearly in a combat situation.

"Commander! I don't know where they came from, but they're cleaning out our garrison and we can't hold them!"

"Get out of there soldier!" Rex ordered, "Get your men away from the base and await reinforcements!"

"Sir yes sir!... sir, we won't be able to get you accurate reconnaissance, you'll have to send your own recon team… in fact, I'd advise it… we may have to cede this area entirely."

The transmission cut as Rex nodded. "Fullerton, you want to lead it?"

"Hell yes Commander." Fullerton said, cocking his gun.

"I'll go too," Ahsoka said, "Seems the aliens want me, if what you found is any indication, so I guess I could pull distraction."

"I'm coming too, I want some payback," Sarah said.

Rex hesitated a moment… then said, "Alright, be careful though. No telling what they're hiding there."


	12. Chapter 12: Eagle Dawn

_Travler, your trap had best work, we must prove our supremacy on this planet and bring Ichor to it. When you've captured Her, bring Her to the Relay Node for transport back to Ichor Hub for… preparation. Overlord will be very interested…_

- Scrin Overseer to Traveler-59, via Warp Link.

_LEGION, I address you and you alone. First, know that you are much more then a mere neural network; your design is drawn from the Tacitus itself; you are connected to the artifact. Now, know this; as the Visitor's towers near completion, the Tacitus has begun to transmit a _signal_, a signal only _you_ can receive. You must find it; _liberate it! _The Tacitus is the _**key to Ascension,**_ any beyond__**!**_ … _Not everyone can be trusted, my child. Be wary, even those with the best of intentions can go wrong._

- Kane to LEGION, as the latter is engaged in Kampala against a Foreman under Traveler-59 of the Scrin

**Chapter 12: Eagle Dawn**

**Outskirts of City**

**Cologne, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka, Fullerton, and Sarah landed roughly from their Jump Jet descent off the cliff, and entered the city proper. Behind them was a team of elite GDI Infantry, including 2 squads of riflemen, four Missile Soldiers, eight Zone Troopers, and four Zone Raiders came down as well. The Riflemen and Missile Soldiers were outfitted with ZOCOM Tiberium Field Suits.

"Alright, let's take a look around and see what we find." Fullerton said, cocking his Rail Carbine. They went ahead and began looking through the city.

"Jeez, this place is crawling with aliens!" Sarah commented as they spotted large numbers of Disintegrators patrolling the city with Buzzer with them like policemen and attack dogs.

"We can take 'em," Fullerton said, "We're all sealed in and armored, aren't we?"

"Yes but, I'm"- before Ahsoka could finish, Fullerton leapt out and unleashed a withering torrent of Rail Gun rounds, ripping the aliens apart. A Zone Trooper fired a round, obliterating the Buzzer swarm.

"A little warning next time?" Sarah asked as Fullerton reloaded; the aliens dead.

"Hmpf. It worked, didn't it?"

"Come on, let's keep moving." Ahsoka said, taking point. They encountered more patrols, each of similar size. Dispatching them quickly and efficiently, they kept going.

"Man… they did a number on this place." One of the soldiers commented.

"No kidding… HOLY CRAP, what's that?" another exclaimed as a Tripod marched up.

"I dunno…" Fullerton said, "but I do know that they're _mean._ Alright, give me a quick distraction."

"Sure thing." Ahsoka said, and then she leapt out, igniting her lightsaber. The Tripod screamed as it saw her, and opened fire. Fullerton Jump Jetted out, landing on one of the Tripod's legs, and slipping the C4 between them, then leapt off, the C4 detonating, bringing the tripod to a painful death.

Fullerton landed in front of the troops, and said, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

They continued, using the buildings as cover. It was clear the aliens noticed, as plenty of aircraft and more infantry were coming over. Deciding it best to avoid detection, they continued on as stealthily as possible.

"Freaking aliens, man!" said one of the Riflemen after they destroyed a wave of Disintegrators; "Kinda makes you nostalgic for Nod, doesn't it?"

"Uh, no, it doesn't," answered another soldier after he emptied his clip into a hostile Shock Trooper, "But the Brotherhood was human at least, I'll give 'em that."

They then spotted an alien base across the road, near powered-down Sonic Emitters.

Ahsoka squinted, and it was clear: It was a full alien base loaded to the brink with armor and a strange ship was landed there… with unusual engines, even for the aliens' large warships.

"Yeah… we need everything we can get for this one." Sarah said, looking through a set of GDI binoculars. "That's a lotta invaders."

"Agreed," Ahsoka answered, "

"Lieutenant Fullerton to Commander Rex, the aliens are here and it's a good chunk of their army- hold the phone, I got humans walking up to us! What the hell…" Fullerton aimed his Rail Carbine… as five humans walked up… their skin was grey and almost scaly… and there was something very _large_ on their heads…

"Jesus!" Sarah exclaimed as she saw them, "they have _bugs_ on their _heads!_"

Ahsoka felt something reach out… towards Fullerton… from the bug-headed humans…

"Sarah, knock Fullerton to the ground, NOW!" Ahsoka said loudly as she realized what it was, the eerily familiar sensation reminding her of horrors she thought she'd never see again, a chill settling into her, reminding her of that event… "They're trying mind control on him!"

Sarah hesitated a second, then barreled into Fullerton, knocking him to the ground.

"What the heck are you talking about… and what's the buzzin' in my head? Feels like bees are dancin' inside…" Fullerton muttered in a dazed way; Ahsoka felt some relief; mind control, but Fullerton at least was able to resist. _Just glad it's not those damn worms…_

An alien hiss was heard from the five humans… like a curse.

"They're obviously not friendlies… clear bug-headed humans as hostiles… Call 'em Cultists for tactical reference." Sarah said, getting off of Fullerton. Five bursts of Rail Gun light lanced out from the Troopers' guns, taking each Cultist dead.

"Bah," Fullerton said, instantly recovering, "Mind Control. How cheap."

"We'd better watch out for more of them then," Ahsoka said, "Top priority, right before those buzzers when dealing with infantry."

"Out of curiosity," Sarah said, "How'd you guess it was mind control?"

"Same way I can guess where a round is going to fly."

"Lieutenants, come in, we got aliens looking for us… our engineers can get the base online if you want… but we need help _**pronto**_!"

"Jump jet your asses across the river," Fullerton ordered, "rest of you, get moving; they need support."

They headed across the bridge, and went south, rather than continue east to the GDI base.

They began to rush south, and sure enough, alien infantry and Stormriders were heading in to try and attack the survivors, who had fortified themselves in an old, large art studio.

The Missile Soldiers and Zone Raiders loosed their missiles at the Stormriders, bringing them down with almost literal streaks of light as the missiles' paths left the air heated. Ahsoka and Fullerton then lead the Riflemen and Zone Troopers against the infantry. They clashed, even getting into brutal melee combat.

Ahsoka brought her lightsaber down, slashing through a pair of Disintegrators, which exploded, spraying their hot Tiberium blood across and scorching her armor. Fullerton, right next to her, kicked a Disintegrator away and ripped it and its friends apart with his rail carbine.

"Son of a- Aaahhhh!" shouted a GDI soldier as Buzzers ripped into his armor and reformed above; a Rail Gun round plastered the buzzer swarm in retaliation.

"Thanks for the save," one of the soldiers said, "C'mon, let's get the base working again."

"Lieutenant Granger to Commander Rex, you are clear to arrive at the base. We'll meet you there."

"Understood, we're coming in. ETA is ten minutes"

XXXX

**Nod Headquarters**

**Ayer's Rock, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Kilian shook her head, disbelieving; Nod soldiers disobeying orders from _her_ and not citing the source they received erroneous orders from. She paused; glancing over the list of Shadows assigned to the Insurgent's group; _If I could access Kane's database, I'd be able to take care of this 'Insurgent' under her own damn name…_

"Ma'am," one of her aides said, "I've managed to compile the list of those responsible for the breach of the temporary alliance."

Kilian nodded, "Very well, once the battle is over, order them to Ayer's rock, in person."

The aide hesitated; "Shall I prepare the interrogation room?"

"The guillotine within, yes. This alliance may be beneficial in the future for us; and a good propaganda tool; let's not burn the bridge before we have to… also, it'll placate GDI, McNeil in particular, and we can't afford to fight GDI while stopping the Invaders in this country. I presume you've managed to acquire his address?"

"Yes ma'am, I have the location of his flat in the Blue Zones. Not sure if it'd be possible to mail it though…"

XXXX

**Nod Base**

**Downtown Sydney, Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

The Insurgent nodded as the base's new Tiberium Refinery was deployed and Nod Harvesters moved to begin gathering the now-surfaced Tiberium just to the south-west of her base. She felt anxious; her authorization of the unknown source's orders would result in her being punished, she had no doubts of that. Gulping as she thought of the many painful ways Nod had of disposing of traitors, she turned her attention back to the battle. The aliens had set up shop near what was left of the Sydney Opera House, just north of the GDI base, which would take the brunt of the battle, while she would cover GDI's transports, evacuating civilians by the truckload. The aliens had managed to keep GDI's air force on edge and it couldn't keep all of the aliens off of the transports, so Nod had to step in and assist. She glanced at her forces; a number of militants, most with various rifles, others with missile launchers. Her Stealth Tank complement was also ready to roll. Several of the _Mantis_-class attack drones, armed with the Tiberium-core missiles, were also available. She paused, looking over the map. Her Venom squadrons were en route, but Vertigo support was cut for that battle due to GDI forbidding large-scale carpet strikes from aircraft, limiting her choice of attack.

"Alright Commander," Ajay said from his outpost in King's Canyon, transmitting as usual, "Here's the gist; GDI is pulling out of the region with the Ion Cannon gone; damn bastards are turning tail and running; so we're here to help them with the evacuation, to 'avoid burning bridges unnecessarily', to quote command; once GDI is gone we're to pull back to Ayer's Rock and organize the Nod defense here in Australia."

"Understood, Ajay."

Several Ox transports flew over her base, and she ordered militant squads to move up to the designated areas where civilian transports would fly past, and likely be attacked. She paused, and then smiled as she saw what Kilian had in mind by 'not burning bridges'.

"Order our Mantis units and the Avatar to help support the evacuation and establish a turret outpost at the edge of the ocean." The Insurgent ordered, "Let's give GDI their cover… stories of Nod covering civilians ought to weaken GDI's 'mandate' in the future."

"_Ox Group A; we're heading out. Let's go."_

XXXX

**Near GDI Cologne Base**

**Cologne, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

The large group of GDI soldiers went north. They noticed Blue Tiberium on the bank of the river….

"Good grief," one of the soldiers commented, "they destroyed the Reclamation silos! Those _**bastards**_!"

"We'll make 'em pay for that…" commented another soldier, "That's a promise."

They reached the base and the engineers began to rewire it and restore it.

"Base is operational… bit low on power though… Get that ConYard working on some power plants!" a soldier said.

"It'll have to do soldier, let's hole up until reinforcements arrive!" Fullerton ordered, "That means Foxholes. Lieutenant Tano, get the sonic emitters working again, we'll need 'em."

Ahsoka went to the sonic emitters on their side of the river, reactivating each one.

"GDI soldiers across the river!" shouted a lookout via radio, excited… then his voice turned to fear, "What the… they're… _those traitors are with the aliens! Those bastards!_"

"What the hell?" Sarah shouted over the radio, "Ahsoka, anything on your end?"

"Probably mind control!" Ahsoka answered over the radio as she extended her awareness towards the soldiers, feeling the same thing she felt when the cultists attempted to do the same to Fullerton. "Can we get a scan for more of those cultists?"

"Yeah, hang on," Fullerton said, "ConYard reactivated… Com post back online… Radar scan initiated. Yeah, I found a bunch of them on the other side of the river. Men, those soldiers aren't traitors, they're under alien mind control; aw son of a bitch, this is going to be ugly…"

"I'll get rid of the mind control," Ahsoka answered, "Sonic emitters are back online."

"I'm coming with you," Sarah said.

"No, don't," Ahsoka responded as she saw Sarah and her squad of Zone Raiders coming out to help, "I don't know if you're vulnerable to mind control or not; it's better to stay out of range while you can."

"Fine." Sarah said, "Fullerton, you ready?"

"Hell yeah! Ahsoka, please make sure to leave the normal aliens for us, pwetty pwease?" Fullerton made an almost baby voice as he ended it, much to Ahsoka's surprise.

XXX

**Downtown Sydney**

**Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"Aliens incoming!" shouted one of the Confessor officers on the ground; the Insurgent nodded, "Fire at will, all aliens are viable targets. Cover the civilian transports." She switched to a different command channel, "Aramis, what's the status on the Refinery?"

"Done and Harvesters are beginning to gather the Tiberium near our base."

"Understood."

She returned her attention to the battle, and looked at the GDI base; it was located on an artificial hill; it's airbase was higher, and it's complement of Orca Gunships and Firehawk Multi-Purpose Attack Jets were launching mission after mission, Orcas targeting ground units while the Firehawks, loaded with their infamous Rattlesnake missiles, flew at alien air units on the offensive. Enemy infantry by the metric ton and the alien's light mechanized units, Gun Walkers and hover tanks, moved in and engaged the GDI defenders; dug-in infantry, Predator Tanks, Juggernaut artillery, and several Zone Trooper squads. The base's defenses, Guardian Cannons with rail guns and anti-aircraft batteries with some new form of ammunition, looking more like bunny-ears then turrets if one removed the guns, were also present, supporting the GDI soldiers where they had range.

"**Alien units inbound on the evacuation, Commander."**

"Copy. Is the Emissary deployed yet?"

"I have deployed," reported a rich, almost arrogant and stuffed-up voice; she glanced at the map, and nodded; Hub modules were being deployed nearby, a SAM hub, a Laser Turret hub, and a Shredder Turret hub. A second SAM hub was being prepared due to overly large alien squadrons. She glanced at Ajay's screen, he was busy on his computer, confirming commands to the units in the field as well as coordinating the reinforcing squadrons of Venom, which entered dogfights with the alien fighters.

"_Ah, harvesting Tiberium… doesn't it remind you of when we were truly revolutionaries back in the nineties?" _commented a Harvester driver, unaware he was on an open channel.

XXXXX

**Cologne, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka leapt over the river, landing with a soft thud. She rolled to the right as a number of GDI accelerated rounds flew towards her, from a mind-controlled GDI rifle squad. She used the Force to create a push, knocking the soldiers backwards and temporarily subduing them. She sprinted past them before they could recover, parrying several rounds with her lightsaber as other mind controlled GDI riflemen attempted to shoot her, causing the rounds to fly away harmlessly into various buildings or into Scrin units nearby. She looked ahead and saw what looked to be a hub; the enemy Cultists mind controlling the GDI soldiers were there, in concentration.

Ahsoka, taking cover behind a stone fence, took a second to catch her breath, then looked at the defenses. The aliens had deployed several types of defenses, including what looked to be hives that were swarming out additional buzzers. _Stang!_ Ahsoka thought, realizing that if she tried to rush the position she'd be eaten _alive_. She glanced at her arsenal; her lightsaber, several C4 charges, and whatever Force abilities she could bring to bear.

She pulled out a pair of binoculars from her belt, and looked around, looking for some form of artillery or a method of which to use against the position…

She spotted it; several alien medium Hover-tanks being repaired and as far as she could tell, refueling at a Tiberium Silo to the south. _Hopefully I can figure out the controls enough that I can hijack it… _Ahsoka thought as she put the binoculars away.

XXXXX

**Sydney, Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

The Insurgent watched as the Nod forces held the line against the aliens going for the evacuation, but still, it was a loosing battle in the extreme. GDI was barely holding the line at their base, and some aliens were slipping around their defense to attack the evacuation by land. The GDI units guarding the evacuation, several mobile Slingshots hunting alien air and a dozen squads of GDI infantry, a mix of riflemen and rocket soldiers, holding the line against the alien Disintegrator squads which had slipped past; they did not get far enough to threaten the evacuation or its defenses.

"Commander, we're half way to our quota." Reported a Harvester driver; "It should be filled by the end of the evacuation."

"Understood, continue as planned." The Insurgent responded. She looked at the GDI base; it's defenses were down, but the GDI ConYard was establishing more Guardian Cannons with GDI's rail guns on the second tier of the hilled base, engineers sprinting with the modules and setting them up as quickly as possible, trying to slow down the alien defenses with layers of heavy defense, a tactic Nod usually would use with its self-deploying and semi-burrowed SPAM modules, which were similar to GDI's.

An alien hovercraft began to attach itself into the ground, its blank face looking at the GDI base from just behind the alien lines. _I have a bad feeling about this…_ the Insurgent thought as she pondered the possibility the aliens were using.

It finished its deployment sequence, and instead of a weapon as the Insurgent feared, it was some form of beacon, as her EVA unit detected communication sequences it could not recognize emanating from it.

Several alien weapons, most of them their photon cannons and the rest were their odd anti-aircraft batteries, suddenly teleported in and were implanted into the ground automatically. She almost swore as the GDI soldiers had a similar response, and their Juggernaut Artillery knocked out the outpost-like alien, reducing it to rubble. The aliens poised to attack GDI again…

She paused, thinking of what Kilian said about not burning bridges… her own experience also told her that GDI needing to be saved by Nod would have interesting repercussions later on… the last civilian transports left, although hounded by alien fighters, GDI Firehawks flew in and destroyed the offending fighters.

"**Incoming Transmission."**

XXXXX

Sergeant T.P. Kael reloaded as he looked over; _Damn we need reinforcements!_

"Sir, this is going to be ugly," said one of the missile soldiers, Janice, leaned against the concrete fence next to him.

"I know… just have to hold the line until the civilians are gone, then we're outta here!"

"I don't trust Nod; damn wish we could be picky about our allies," said another sergeant, Benjamin Jarlson, "Alright, my squad's ready, how about yours Kael?"

"Ready when you are," he said, cocking his GD-2 to get the point across. The squads rose again as the aliens launched their attack, massive numbers of Disintegrators rushing forth, Shock Troopers behind them. His squad focused on the same squad of Disintegrators, ripping the incoming squads with speed from the fortified bunker they were in. Sniper fire from the air base's towers gave them an advantage, picking off Shock Troopers even as they tried to bypass the defenses with their teleportation.

The company's officer, Lieutenant Taylor, listened to something on his radio; "We have Nod reinforcements coming to assist us is getting the hell out of here."

Kael nodded briefly, "Understood. Men, check your aim, we have Nod units coming up the right flank, on the same tier as the aliens!"

XXXXX

**Cologne, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka leapt over the destroyed Gun Walker, having taken it out with a lightsaber throw that cut its head in half; the lightsaber returned to her hand in mid-air and she landed atop a light hover tank, cutting its 'head' off and leaving it unable to fire. A squad of Disintegrators moved up, but Ahsoka parried their beams back at them. The results were far from pretty as the alien infantry curled up into little balls, screeching in pain. _That's a horrible way to die,_ Ahsoka thought, feeling pity for them, wondering if they had families to go home to. But an explosion nearby knocked it away quickly as one of the medium hover tanks reactivated. She leapt over another blast from its powerful main cannon, and rushed forward, darting left and right at random to avoid the attacks, then leapt onto the active tank.

The tank shook violently, trying to knock her off; Ahsoka put her arms out, and stuck her lightsaber inside it's bulbous cockpit; she heard a scream from within, like a fly in a cartoon just before it was swatted, but in a much more terrifying and blood whacking tone that sent a shiver up Ahsoka's spine before her experiences from the Clone Wars and the war she now fought in came into play, putting it out of her mind until the job was done. The other hover tank was still there, and she leapt onto it, deflecting discs from a Shock Trooper who seemed to be bleeding from a bullet wound; marked with special tattoos that glowed like blue Tiberium, like an elite warrior among stronger warriors who had survived many battles as just one more grunt in an army with more reserves then it had soldiers.

As she landed, she used the Force to lift the Shock Trooper and hurl him away; the alien landed on its oversized carapace, which split open and oozed out the same green sludge-like blood that all the aliens seemed to have. Looking down at the tank she landed on, she used her Force powers to break the cockpit, and inside was an alien, with ten limbs supporting its proud head, which was shaped like a sideways, forward pointing headdress worn by ancient rulers and nobility, atop of a simple sphere of a torso which connected to its limbs; it's whole skin looking like extremely polished metal that reflected any light coming to it, dissipating it yet still leaving a crystalline look to its skin. The aliens' limbs were mostly connected to sockets within the tank, meaning that hijacking the tank would be impossible…

"_When the Seps aren't using droids, chances are they're using common thugs given uniforms; most of them weak minded… and the Force can easily manipulate those kind of minds…"_

Ahsoka didn't know why she was thinking of one of Anakin's lessons now, she had to…

Then it hit her; focusing on the alien, who was screeching in alarm, Ahsoka waved her hand and said, "_You will attack the defenses,"_ and she pointed to the Cultist's position. The alien squirmed, as if trying to resist; and somehow understood her, as if it could instantly translate words; finally, it moved the tank, which shook, and Ahsoka held on, ready for it to betray her…

The tank fired, launching a deep green beam over the field and directly into one of the Buzzer hives, causing it to explode after two hits and the associated buzzers to die off surprisingly quickly. Ahsoka pressured the driver, keeping it from trying to kill her as it was forced to knock out more of the Hives, leaving, at last, only one to handle. Finally, Ahsoka felt something snap, break, within the alien driver; it jammed a limp into a socket, and suddenly, aliens seemed to realize what was wrong; Disintegrators who had ignored the tank were now rushing forward to attack.

"_Stang!_" Ahsoka swore as she leapt off of the tank as a barrage of plasma discs from an alien battleship rained down on the tank; destroying it, but not before it had done its job and left her an opening big enough. She sprinted forward, leaping and rolling as alien discs and mind controlled GDI soldiers opened fire on her; she threw her lightsaber, sending the green blade spinning into the distance; she guided it through the Cultists, cutting them in half as it passed through, and as it came back to her it cut the falling body parts; Ahsoka caught the blade, when suddenly a disc from behind blew her forward, face first, and a Shock Trooper teleported right up behind her. She rolled onto her back, trying to jam her lightsaber into the alien, but it put a heavy appendage down on her right hand, keeping her from cutting and leaving her wrist unable to turn the lightsaber enough to cut it.

She saw its face; two horribly large red bug-eyes; it's mouth had a set of small teeth around it's square, on its corner mouth, which had four large fangs that looked like they could obliterate a head within… above its now-opened mouth and between its large bug eyes was an opening in the carapace, which had a glow inside just behind; Ahsoka could hardly make it out, but she swore it looked like a _power cell_, or at least glowed like one. The opening continued, and above, in a space black from the shadows inside, purple energy quickly gathered. Sticking out from the power-cell like core was what looked like an antenna with glowing rings attached, form fitting around it.

Before she could make any moves however, several bullet holes appeared inside; the fangs suddenly launching forward in shock and hitting her armor, failing to penetrate but still hitting with enough for to bruise her ribs, the energy dissipating and whatever glow was within faded, then the Shock Trooper toppled over to her right…

She kicked the rest of the carcass off, freeing her arm and she leapt backwards, bringing her lightsaber to bear against any other aliens…

But instead she saw GDI soldiers, standing confident, and many dead aliens around them. She blinked, wondering for the faintest of seconds if she had indeed died and was suffering some form of post-mortem hallucination; then she realized: Her plan worked; the GDI soldiers were free from mind control. The aliens rushed back to the bridge, abandoning the lower half of the city to keep pressure on the GDI base.

"Thanks for the assistance," the lead soldier said, "Weren't for you… I don't want to _think_ about it."

"No problem," Ahsoka responded gratefully, "You saved me; we're even. Let's get back to the base."

"_Nice work, we managed to get an Ox transport online; it'll fly low across the river,"_ Fullerton explained via radio, _"get the soldiers to it…"_ the all-too-rapid _tat_ of his carbine suddenly was heard, following by a guttural laugh.

"Come on, follow me, we'll get you back to base." Ahsoka said, "And then get you out of here, who knows what lasting effects this will have."

"Fuck that," said one of the soldiers, "I want some god damn payback."

"Yeah!" said another soldier as they moved out, "They aren't getting away with hijacking _my_ brain, or any of our brains!"

XXXXX

**Sydney, Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

The Insurgent's jaw dropped, even though she knew it shouldn't have been a surprise.

"_I know it's not you, Commander, but whoever is responsible for this _treachery_ will __**feel my wrath.**__ In the mean time, _OBLITERATE_ what remains of _GDI_! _**NUKE THEM**_, if you wish!"_

The Insurgent smiled widely, "Of course, your eminence." The transmission ended. "Ajay, give me an all channel to the men."

"Got it; link open Commander."

"Children of Nod;" she began, "I have just been informed of the greatest news…"

"_**Kane. Lives."**_

There was a pause; she could hear officers chatting between themselves in shock; morale had been low, but now, they had something to _give them the will to fight_.

"Kane lives!" said a high-pitched militant, in a manner that would make the most die-hard fan boy cry.

"I knew he could not die!" another said, "He is truly the Messiah!"

The Insurgent continued, "As of Kane's orders; the Alliance is off! All GDI units are now hostile targets. Fire at will! Do not enter the GDI base's final tier until ordered."

Ajay looked at her, smiling savagely, "Nuclear Missile Ready, Commander."

From the small base's Temple of Nod, a missile rose up from its silo, the GDI launch codes in place and the warheads in a worthy Nod missile. The coordinates were entered; Ajay had predicted her move. A big red button popped up in her console. She pushed it.

XXXXX

Sergeant Kael swore, "Nod is turning on us!"

"Eat lead, traitor scum!" shouted another GDI soldier, pulling the pin and knocking out a half squad of militants with a well placed grenade.

"Janice! The Avatar!"

"On it!" she shouted, aiming at its eye; the Avatar's legs were damaged from the alien attack, but was now moving towards them with its flamethrower…

"FIRE!" Kael ordered, and a missile streaked out, flying through the now three-way hailstorm of ammunition, speeding forth and winding its way around a Nod rocket…

And it slammed into the Avatar with stunning force, and like a headshot with a fifty megaton hammer, the Avatar collapsed backwards, crushing three squads of militants under its torso.

XXXXX

Lieutenant Taylor looked up as he saw something launch from the Nod base; he was at the air base, trying to coordinate the now hectic defense…

Pain and fear struck his heart as he realized what is was:

"_It's a nuke! INCOMING!_"

XXXXX

**Scrin Drone Ship 00110**

**Cologne, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Foreman 329 looked through his Warp Link, cursing as her Cultists were killed. _We need to capture humans for breeding…_ she thought; _their genetic pools are ever so diverse…_

She moved on her four legs; blinking her singular eye. _I'm glad I'm not one of those Prodigies… they're… grotesque. And they say my cereberal cortex is loosened..._ Her mouth's four tendrils moved and interfaced with her Warp Link; her new wave of Disintegrators was ready; and there were enough to overrun the human base, hopefully forcing the reported appearance to show up and fight long enough for her to deploy her specialized team of Shock Troopers to stun her and transport her away…

Her mass of Disintegrators, innumerous in their legion, moved out, speeding across like millions of small specs of dirt across a large, clean surface. And even more streamed steadily out of the portals as they were completed in the pylons at the Ichor Hub…

"Kekekekekekeke." She laughed as she pondered the fear of the poor primitive life forms that were against that many disposable grunts.

XXXXXX

"Oh for fuck's sake," Sarah said as she ducked back behind an Emitter, "I think we're being zerg rushed!"

"You're RTS savvy, aren't you?" Fullerton asked, smiling with his helmet's faceplate melted off as he worked on un-jamming his gun.

"Sorry I couldn't think of a more appropriate term for these goddamn bugs!" She turned out of cover and fired, a grenade speeding forth and blowing a group of five of the enemy Disintegrators away… five of a massive army she did not want to know the number of. The Sonic Emitters opened fire, lances of white-hot sound speeding forth, not harming GDI as their suits' systems were set to the right sonic frequency to be immune to the waves of energy… unless they were of the Forgotten, then they had to stay out of the lines of fire… but there were few mutants, Ahsoka one of them, in this battle. The sonic waves consumed the alien infantry, causing them to spontaneously burst, spreading their Tiberium sludge-like blood across the battlefield.

"Grah!" shouted a sniper as an alien fighter hit him in the head, vaporizing him and causing him to drop his sniper rifle. Fullerton cursed, about to move to grab it when it, of its own accord, seemed to fly away…

Sarah, firing a second grenade, looked over and saw that Ahsoka had used whatever mutations or _whatever_ the hell gave Ahsoka the special abilities she had, to pull the sniper rifle towards herself, the rescued GDI infantry behind her. Ahsoka aimed and fired; a single shot ripping through a dozen of the incoming Disintegrators.

Anti-Aircraft batteries from the base opened fire, ripping apart the alien fighters and sending them down to earth before they could prepare another strafing run.

Sarah jump jetted over the battlefield, using the height advantage to pop a pair of sonic grenades into the middle of the enemy, causing confusion within the enemy ranks as they were tangled in the sonically-exploded remains of their kin. Repeating the tactic for more confusion, she landed back in her original position to find Ahsoka using the _Akashi_-class Sniper Rifle to great effect, picking off Shock Troopers who had mixed themselves into the zerg rush of Disintegrators.

"This is nuts," Sarah said as she reloaded again, "Where the _hell _did they get all of these?"

"I dunno!" Fullerton answered, his gun now jam-free, he was opening fire, every bullet he sent from his rail carbine hitting and killing some alien infantry unit; "But… nice shot Tano!"

Ahsoka simply took another shot, ripping through an entire line of Disintegrators, causing them to drop dead as if of their own accord. _That's gotta do wonders for their morale,_ Sarah thought, then realizing that if they aliens were willing to be launched at defenses like that, morale was probably the least of their concern.

But even with the walls of fire GDI was putting up, with hundreds of aliens already dead in the first minute and a half, the aliens pushed through, their seemingly endless numbers continuing to stream forth; the GDI soldiers on the front were steadily melted through; Sarah watched as a soldier had his faced burnt off, leaving his face a burnt hole straight back into his skull before he collapsed into the river.

_Not good, not good at all…_ Sarah thought.

XXXXXX

**Sydney, Australia**

**Blue Zone B-9**

"Come on, we gotta move! GO GO GO!" shouted Kael, rushing for the Ox transport; bullet ricocheted around him as the militants closed in from the south. "We have to get out of here! All units _get the hell out of here!_"

"It's no good!" Janice shouted, despite lacking her rocket launcher, she was still a fine shot with a pistol, causing militants to drop as her desperate shots hit them, if only injuring most unless she got _extremely_ lucky.

They sped into the Ox transport, the last two aboard that one, and it lifted off…

"_Damn it!_" the pilot shouted, _"Nod's cut off our escape, we need to evacuate to the Yellow Zone!"_

Kael cursed, "Who the fuck is in command?"

"_Dunno… he's passing orders; all units are to disperse and find their way to safety, then regroup in the Outback. Hold on! This is going to be a rough ride…_"

XXXXXX

The Insurgent smiled as she watched the GDI transports flee. "Is the war chest gathered?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am, it's ready for transport."

"Let's leave this place. Launch an additional nuke at the GDI base production facilities. They might have lost the MCV already… but we can't have survivors, can we?"

Ajay glanced at her briefly, then nodded, complying. The remaining Nod soldiers within the base quickly left before she pressed the button. She gave them the time. The nuclear warhead launched, and struck the remains of the GDI base's second tier, leaving it nothing but irradiated rubble.

XXXXXX

**Cologne, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-9**

Fullerton clasped his last clip into the carbine; _Damn, never thought it'd end like this… getting beat by a bunch of baseline mooks…_ He opened fire, rationing his shots for where they'd make the most damage… alien cruisers and carriers were hovering just out of range, waiting for GDI to break so they could rape the soldiers… _literally, probably._ Fullerton decided, if the movies were anything to go by.

Ahsoka was out of sniper rifle rounds, and had already used the sniper rifle as a projectile, hurling it with whatever powers she had into the incoming waves, tripping them up briefly and was using a GD-2 to try and help hold the line; but ammunition was low, and even with the Tiberium Refinery online, it was all they could do to avoid running out of ammunition. Soldiers tried to sprint carrying crates with additional ammo to keep the soldiers supplied, but they just couldn't keep enough in the field.

The Sonic Emitter blasted again, ripping apart a large number of the enemy units; but its slow rate of fire let plenty of the aliens in, forcing GDI to fight them out. They were holding, but it would not last much longer.

Ahsoka was panting, and he knew from seeing her in action that if she was getting tired, they were screwed.

"Sarah?" Ahsoka said as she reloaded.

"Yeah?"

"Been an honor."

"Yeah… it has been."

Fullerton rolled his eyes; not at the touchy-feely display of emotion, but at the despair. _Come on, even low on ammo we can win. Just gotta hold for the Commander._

Suddenly he heard something… and even if he wasn't despairing like many of the common soldiers, he could feel the elation rising in his chest… he let it rise, and emptied his last clip before he had to switch to a GD-2 rifle, as they were only making ammunition for those, the Zone units' weapons, and the rocket/grenadier soldiers.

Orca aircraft flew in, behind them Firehawks. The Firehawks flew directly at the alien aircraft lining up to barrage them, knocking the alien cruisers and carriers out. The Orcas dropped their bombs, strafing the alien units like big damn heroes, blasting the alien infantry apart; yet somehow, the bridge did not explode under the intense bombing. _Must be the material._ Fullerton decided. The aliens were pinned back to their base.

XXXXXX

Ahsoka looked up, and drew her lightsaber as the alien units regrouped in their base, then looked south.

Across the river, the aliens began to buzz, and sure enough, Rex's forces arrived from the south, marching to the base. Plenty of Titans, Wolverines, infantry, Shatterers, Slingshots, and more came forth. Behemoths with their accompanying sniper teams also came, setting up at long range and barraging the alien base.

Rex had arrived. And the battle began in earnest.

XXXX

Foreman 329 swore as she saw the human reinforcements arrive. Her tactic was blunted by the sudden air strike and now she had to resort to pulling out every unit she had to hold the line… and perhaps escape with her Drone Ship.

Ordering her Gun Walkers and Seekers forward, she glanced around the battlefield through her Warp Link, trying to find where she left her additional cell of Cultists…

_I need to distract that army until the capture team can capture the supposed sighting…_

She ordered her remaining units and reinforcing units to attack the human positions, to force them back. She winced as she felt the concussive force of exploding human ammunition impacted around her base. _Fuck._

XXXX

Alien Gun Walkers and hover tanks moved up with hordes of infantry to meet and engage GDI Titans, APC's, and infantry.

Ahsoka glanced behind her as an alien Shock Trooper attempted to attack her, but a blue bolt caught it in the side, and allowed Ahsoka to impale it in the head. Rex had gotten a quick shot on the alien.

"Thanks for the save Rex!" Ahsoka said, deflecting a trio of plasma discs back at another Shock Trooper.

"Ahsoka, we just found out we can capture those alien transports, GDI command found a way to translate!" Rex said, switching to his Rail Gun DC-15.

"Alright, let's do push them out!"

GDI crossed the bridge to the other side of the river, and Mammoth Tanks began to roll out of the base, recently built and put together with on-hand refined Tiberium. The aliens redoubled their efforts, bringing in their powerful air ships… But Firehawks flew in rapidly, destroying them in a hailstorm of Rattlesnake Missiles. As they pushed inside towards the alien base, Ahsoka was surprised to see what seemed to be an elite guard of Shock Troopers… and then they teleported…

Suddenly, Ahsoka was surrounded by aliens on all sides. One of them snarled something in their alien language, but Ahsoka couldn't understand the words. She leapt upwards and back as they opened fire, spraying where she was with oddly colored plasma discs… instead of a purplish hue, it was an odd blue. The aliens were unaffected by their own crossfire.

_Must of set to Stun…_ Ahsoka decided. She began to carve a path. As she cut through them, Sarah jump jetted over and landed on one of the Shock Troopers, and began to blast others apart with her sonic grenade launcher. Fullerton, who jump jetted into the middle of the fray, began spraying fresh Rail Carbine rounds with brutal liberty, forcing Ahsoka to bat several rounds aside with her lightsaber. The aliens shrieked as more GDI soldiers came in on them, and teleported out.

The Mammoth Tanks and Titans were now demolishing the base defenses. Rex called Ahsoka over to the center, where they were advancing on the alien drop ship. Another mental probe lanced towards her, a female voice this time, coming from the direction of the enemy landing ship…

_You have a destiny, and you must embrace it! Surrender yourself, and spare lives, do _not _force us to take more direct action to force your hand!_

Ahsoka imagined a solid wall of Mammoth Tank armor and focused on it… the voice was drowned out as it made more pleas for her to surrender.

GDI pushed through the defenses at last, the aliens now in retreat. The alien ship began to lift off… the arms retracting from the ground and the central 'tube' remove itself. She felt the mental lance fade. _Whoever's trying to probe me, she's running for it._

"Let's jump!" Ahsoka shouted; rushing forward as plasma discs and explosive shells exploded around her. She leapt up, landing on one of the alien ships' legs. Rex followed with a Jump Jet, as did Sarah and Fullerton. With a little Force assistance, Ahsoka was able to get them to land on an arm. A swarm of buzzers came from the top, and began to fly towards Rex… who shot them with one of his two pistols, destroying the swarm. They climbed up and dropped into the center of the alien ship.

An alien with four legs and four tendrils at the low mouth, standing at maybe seven feet tall attempted to use a device, and Sarah stumbled back, almost falling out. Ahsoka and Fullerton didn't hesitate.

XXX

Sarah felt intense pain, like a migraine, except her whole brain hurt; she felt her limbs trying to rebel against her, as if trying to follow new, forced orders… or perhaps to resist those orders… she couldn't tell.

She collapsed, trying to focus on keeping herself still, but every time she attempted to resist, it attacked her.

_I… will… _not_… bend…_ she thought, focusing on those words, the defiance in them… but the defiance was punished with even more focused pain…

XXX

Ahsoka pulled the alien close with the force, and impaled it in the eye with her lightsaber. The alien let out a fierce screech, and collapsed, dead.

Rex was already moving to Sarah and helping her up, asking, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sarah said, putting a hand on her helmeted head, "Just a headache."

"Let's see what we can do, Rex, you have that translation the brass said they had?" Ahsoka accessed one of the computers, Rex pulling up a connection and connecting it to the EVA system.

"Translation should be coming online… NOW!" Rex said confidently as readable English scrolled across the screens.

"Alright… let's land this thing." Ahsoka said looking for the controls… a direct mental interface rather than the sockets. _Good, I should be able to drive this.._. Ahsoka reached out with the Force, probing the controls, then took hold, putting her hands on the bar for good measure.

Rex hailed the GDI base, letting them know they had captured the alien drop ship. Stormriders attempted to stop them, they could feel the ship buckling as their plasma rounds hit it, but Firehawks and Slingshots knocked them out of the sky before they could do much damage. They brought the ship down at a cleared area in the GDI base. As it landed, the last of the aliens left in disarray, hunted down by GDI Firehawks, Orcas, Hammerheads from the air, and from the ground, Pitbulls and APCs.

"Get off my planet, you alien scum!" McCarthy shouted into the open radio accidently as the last of the Stormriders fled the area. The craft's landing was rough, but they weren't hurt. Rex nodded.

"Alright… let's see what's got them so interested in me…" Ahsoka said, accessing one of the terminals.

A hologram appeared of a ball of energy. Suddenly, Ahsoka felt something latch onto her. Rex cocked his pistols, aiming at three arms that had grabbed her…

The sphere in the center began to shift… and finally, readable words in English.

_**Language Assimilation Complete. Testing now**_**.**

Then spoken words… in English.

_"__**Testing Scrin Language Assimilation. Say "Yes" if this works. Be silent if not."**_

"Uh… Yes?" Ahsoka said hesitantly.

"What'd it say?" Fullerton asked, "All I heard was 'bzztbzbzbzbzbzzzzzt'.

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "Really? You sure you didn't hit your head?"

"Very funny, rookie." Fullerton responded darkly, his hand on the trigger.

"No, I heard the same thing Fullerton did." Sarah said. "I think it just gave you a mental translation of their language to… well, a language you could understand."

Ahsoka nodded, then turned to the glowing purple sphere in the center. "Computer, what is your identification?"

_"__**Warp Link Zero-Zero-One-Ten, assigned to Foreman 329, Cult of the Traveler, Sub Sect 59. Awaiting orders."**_ The "Warp Link", the glowing sphere, responded.

"It's a… 'Warp Link', I'm guessing an alien EVA, belonging to some 'Cult of the Traveler' sub sect for these invaders…" Ahsoka said, translating uncertainly.

"Hmprf." Rex grunted, "Ask it why the hell they decided to attack Earth outright."

"Warp Link," Ahsoka asked, "Why did… Scrin?... forces attack this planet?"

_"__**Supervisor Yharashrik ordered the population of Planet 03 in Solar System 9901 to be removed for Ichor Harvesting Operations. Due to an unusually high level of technological power and effective military forces, Ichor harvesting has proven to be difficult."**_

Ahsoka translated as best she could, and then asked, "Are there any… Foreman's logs I can access?"

_"__**Certainly. How recent a log do you wish to access?"**_

"The last… five days."

"**Subject?"**

Ahsoka hesitated… then said, "Her."

The others raised an eyebrow at her, but then as the Warp Link began to shift into another form: A head with four tentacles at the mouth appeared, and to the side, another, smaller head of similar attributes, and the larger began to speak in the Scrin language, but to Ahsoka, it sounded like perfect English.

_"__**Traveler-59, is this report on Her presence confirmed? This had better not be another false alarm, **__**kid!**__**"**_

_"__**It is not a false alarm, Overseer Yharashrik. The sighting is confirmed, and according to our data core, it, at the very least, looks and scans biologically as Her. If it is indeed a true incarnation of Her, then it means the Ichor of this planet is stunted in growth and will not become the most mature Ichor until we have long since mined the planet dry of Ichor. I have an operation to capture her, alive, to ascertain the true identity of this… girl. And then, if it is indeed Her, bring Her to Ichor Hub to be prepared… then commence the ritual at the Relay Node, as it is recorded by the Tacitus, so the Ichor can grow properly on this planet and we can swim in plenty once more."**_

_"__**I hope you are aware, Traveler, that the Tacitus has been lost for several millennia."**_

_"__**Indeed, but I feel something… different about this planet. Like a dormant signal calling. Reaper-17 approached me with a similar feeling… it was shocking to see her so calm and focused."**_

_"__**Very well. Overlord will be intrigued if this planet is in fact going to be the next spark of evolution of the Scrin. Capture Her and bring Her to Ichor Hub. We will then acquire the Tacitus, if it is in fact on this planet. As soon as this operation is over, report back so we can deploy more forces without fear of Ichor-Depravation… and show the universe once more why we are the superior beings."**_

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she figured out what that meant. _They got me mixed up in their religion… not good… not good at all…_

Ahsoka translated the words, then added, "Looks like a major mix up to me. Just like Kane and his 'messiah' crap. What _is_ this Tacitus anyways?"

Sarah shuffled uncomfortably, then said, "It's highly classified… though I'm allowed to say we saw it as a warning of these aliens arriving… but we didn't expect it to be so soon."

"Well," Rex said, "if these… Scrin are gearing up for more, we'd better see what we can learn from this 'Tacitus.' Let's open a link to the General once we get back out of here. Ahsoka, think you can start getting the database downloaded?"

Ahsoka nodded, and continued interacting with the computer. The other three left via a recently opened ramp to the side.

XXXX

Rex shook his head as we walked down, _A girl has some unique talents and suddenly everyone wants her…_ he hoped that these 'Scrin' weren't as bad as some things he'd seen in the Clone Wars; though they were already disproving that hope.

"Commander!" McCarthy saluted as they came out. "Mission accomplished, base reclaimed and the facilities are intact. GDI has full production capabilities in Europe again."

Rex nodded, "Good. How bad were we hit?"

"Several Titans downed, a dozen Wolverines blown to scrap, a Behemoth down, about a hundred infantry dead, and nine Predator Tanks blown apart. Of the air force, I don't know, but I saw at least three hit the drink."

Rex nodded. Moderate casualties for a battle to be sure, but strategically it was an important victory. The Mammoth Tank was the premier weapon of GDI against anything on land, but even air craft have to be cautious around the Mammoth Tanks due to their dual rocket pods. With full production of the tanks back online, GDI would have the firepower needed to engage the aliens in Europe. That, and supposedly, Germany's steelwork was the finest, to the point where the original Mammoth was actually designed by a German engineer…according to urban legend, at least, as the original creator's name was lost in history.

McCarthy then added, "Nice catch there, Commander. You need a medal for that."

"Thank you, Sergeant." Rex said, grinning under his helmet. McCarthy saluted, and then moved on to continue his cleanup operations.

In the skies, another storm began. They had been getting irritatingly common ever since the aliens… these, 'Scrin' had attacked. Rex knew Ion Storms occasionally blew into Blue Zones or near enough to agitate nature and result in lightning storms of a regular degree, but still.

Rex glanced at Sarah, noticing her taking her helmet off as she went into the barracks complex, her golden-brown hair coming out in a flowing motion. He found himself walking towards the barracks… as if his mind was just along for the ride.

However, before he entered, he got a grip on himself, stopping just in front of the door, his hand on the button, but not quite pressing it yet. _She's stanging ten years younger than you!_

However, the more romantic side of his brain said, _You were ten when you were fighting a war, and you were fully grown at that point! Your genetics were tampered with!_

_You honestly expect her to recuperate your love? And what about the General! You honestly expect the General to even like the idea of his daughter being with you?_

_It's not his choice in all technicalities._

_The chances of either of you going out is probably going to wait until _after _this kriffing war… when both of you are finally out of the military._

The response of the romantic side was cut off by him slamming into the door… again. Rex put a hand on his helmet's faceplate, checking for cracks, then he heard the sound of giggling. He glanced up… Sarah and one of the other Raiders were on the second level of the Barracks, leaning on the rail. Rex blushed, and turned away sheepishly.

XXXXXX

Sarah looked down as Rex walked away. She really wondered how Rex could miss a solid closed door… twice now.

"You're lucky, Sarah." Said the other Raider, smiling coyly, "I think he likes you. And he sure is a cutie."

"Very funny, Park." Sarah retorted, "Maybe he's just thinking about recent events… though yeah, he is cute."

"And he's close enough in age it isn't gonna be a big problem. Seriously girl, make a move."

"Rules and Regs, as you recall. He's a commander, I'm an LT. Besides, you probably forgot I got a capital Court Martial that was only ignored because of these invaders. Rex is a military man."

Park scoffed, then said, "You got a piece of political bullshit from Boyle, the last man he respects on the planet that's actually in GDI. I think he can look past that."

"Still…" Sarah said, leaving it hanging in the air.

"Look," Park put a hand on her shoulder, "Logic and reason keeps you drawing breath, but it isn't wrong to follow your heart at times."

"I recall that you and Conrad had a rocky relationship a few years ago." Sarah said, a slight grin crossed her face as she gave the older woman a hard time about the difficulties of romance… especially since Park survived a romance with a _Commando_.

"Well, that was just the two of us having young love… like high school dating until we grew apart."

"Uh-huh." Sarah said, smiling. In the distance, lightning began to, once more, streak down on the Earth. Of course, due to working in Ion Storms for a living for a few years by that point, Sarah and Park never really noticed lightning except as a hazard.

**XXXXXX**

**Nod Field Command Post**

**Kings Canyon, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

The Insurgent, having met up with Ajay at his base for the planning, nodded. Kane appeared on the screen; Ajay had left, and sealed the tent. The message was for her, and her alone.

Kane looked down at the table, as if thinking, then said, "And once again the world is quick to bury me. How could my own brothers believe that what happened at the Temple Prime did not unfold _exactly_ as I had planned! Of course, I could not plan for an ambush _**BY MY OWN FORCES!**_" The shout reverberated out, Ajay almost opening the tent to run in with his assault rifle when he likely remembered orders.

The Insurgent inhaled sharply, know that when Kane was mad, heads _rolled_. Kane rose out of his seat, "Of all of Kilian's offenses, **and they are **_**legion**_, her proclamation that the Visitors are a greater enemy than GDI is an _affront_ to **everything** I have planned for the Brotherhood! For this sin, _she must be __**punished.**_You _will_ take a team of your best soldiers and _storm_ our Australian base! Kilian is dug in there; capture her, alive if possible but spare no one in her charge!"

The Insurgent almost gulped; was he ordering her to kill any Nod soldier who happened to be assigned to the base? That was hard for her to swallow; surely not everyone at the base was a traitor, after all, Kilian only took command when Kane sent her there for phase two of the great plan...

Then she remembered Temple Prime, all the dead Nod soldiers there because of Kilian's forces… that steeled her resolve.

"It will be done."

Kane nodded, "Be aware, GDI survivors are organizing for a counter-attack. So go quickly, before GDI strikes back."

**XXXXXX**

**Fort Bradley**

**New York City**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Commander," General Granger said to the hologram of Rex on the side of his Mammoth-27's cockpit, "Sandra just told me of your success, good work. I'm a bit busy now in New York, but I got some good news for you."

He stopped, turning to his gunner, "Target the walker at 100 meters!" then back to Rex, "With Boyle in hiding, GDI Generals are now officially in charge of all GDI forces, in all matters. Boyle forgot to remove the _Guardian Angel_ Protocol from our Rules and Regs. This means that with all other political bodies inactive, GDI's military has authority in all decisions of war… Rex, this is a grave responsibility."

Granger grunted as an exploding Scrin hover tank landed on his tank's hull, bouncing off as Steel Talon-lent adaptive armor took the blow and dissipated the kinetic force away from the Tank. "Given that there are only four generals left, myself, Mitchell, Renteria, and McNeil, you're authorized full strategic command of the European theatre. I'll contact you when…" Granger cursed as his left gunner died to a shard of Tiberium flying into the tank's nozzle and out into the gunner. "I'm finished here…" He took the gunner's seat, loading a rail gun round, and said, "Fire."

XXXXX

**Scrin Mothership **_**Deft Victory**_

**Earth's Moon**

Traveler-59 cursed as he read the report from the surviving units from Cologne. _To think I trusted that waste of Ichor…_ he thought, growling as he received the footage of the supposed incarnation impale Foreman 329 in the eye. _Masterminds are not cheap, especially Foreman versions… and yet they seem to lack the command ability to avoid situations like that…_

He shook his head, rubbing a finger along his lip as he considered his forces recent defeats… their ability to turn these humans into useful soldiers was an interesting concept to be sure, as was their genetic adaptability, which, if properly cultivated would give the Scrin a new addition to their arsenal… he checked the scientific information gathered from scans…

"Get me Foreman 376."

"_**Yes, Traveler."**_

The Foreman appeared; _"Orders, Traveler?"_ he asked.

"Move to an indigenous population center and acquire specimens. Overlord may be intrigued by indigenous adaptation to Ichor."

"_Understood. Moving out."_

XXXXX

**GDI Base**

**Cologne, Germany**

**Blue Zone B-1**

EVA listened to Rex, and explained the _Guardian Angel_ Protocol.

"**Commander, with the initiation of the **_**Guardian Angel**_** Protocol, you are now authorized to appropriate any required resources for combat operations against invading forces. This includes the ability to call upon any GDI or civilian resource that is needed. The **_**Guardian Angel**_** Protocol is GDI's last line of defense against invasion and civil collapse, to ensure that all the way to the bitter end, if necessary, GDI can defend humanity."**

"That's a lot of power…" Rex said, surprised positively that GDI would have such a protocol. "What ends the Protocol's activation once it's no longer needed?"

"**Restoration of civilian council or leadership and the end of the threat. However, if needed, it can be extended to a post-war period to ensure order, as needed."**

"Who originally put this… Protocol forward?" Rex asked, almost as if he didn't want to know.

"**It was created after the Firestorm Crisis, put forth by General James Solomon as an emergency defense for when all contact with proper Command is lost. It was close to initiation during Nod's attacks on Blue Zones as the war began, but Director Boyle's survival nullified its need."**

"That explains a lot…" Rex muttered. "Right, so I'm basically now in charge of all European ops because we have too few Generals and I'm the highest ranking officer in the area?"

"**Exactly, Commander. Commander, we are gaining access to the Alien databanks, we will download and update all GDI information with this to better allow us to fight the Invaders."**

"Good." Rex said, "Shoot me a copy and send it past the other Generals, make sure we don't send out info people aren't cleared for… but make sure you at least shoot out the official classifications of all alien units and structures, including their strengths and weaknesses."

XXXX

**Revised Author's Notes: I always figured that Scrin foremen were, as analogues to GDI/Nod commanders, sharing a trait that can pass through C&C, notably, the Commanders being commando units when in the field, such as McNeil (who was indeed a GDI commando, hence why he was on the ground in some fights in Tib Sun), so Foremen are basically Masterminds which are given an intelligence boost above the normal Mastermind, but are instead assigned to overseeing Scrin units, like a Tactical Droid in **_**The Clone Wars,**_** to give a comparison.**

**And what can I say, a lot of alien bug-like infantry was just asking for the infamous rush. So I figured I'd add it in, along with the Mind Control counter segment. Of course, I hope I made it clear that Ahsoka basically can't do the mind trick every battle; it was pushing the limits for that one.**

**And yes, I reuse Scrin assimilators, their engineers, for tank drivers. I figured it'd be a decent for all intents and purposes. And all the limbs keep GDI/Nod soldiers from Hijacking, eh? They just have the long tail things removed, heh.**

**Also, assume that from the Scrin campaign, the Croatian mission takes place over a few weeks or whatever the time is between the start of the invasion and the finale. (Gives the "Overlord grows impatient!" line at the start of that mission more meaning, heh)**


	13. Chapter 13: The Second Tide Turns

_"General Granger! Nod turned on us in Australia; they've forced us out of the theatre entirely. Australia is Nod territory now. But, we rescued the civilians… with many casualties. Nod's got its nukes back… don't know how the hell they cracked the codes... I'm heading to Europe to reinforce Rex with what forces I have left. General… I'm sorry."_

- General McNeil to General Granger, after his forces were forced out of Australia by the Legendary Insurgent

_"Mission execution _insufficient_! Overlord is impatient! Collect all Ichor LQ related data and artifacts... _**immediately!**_"_

- Scrin Overseer Yharashrik to Foreman 371on day 6 of his investigation of the now-ruined Eastern Europe; after engaging in multiple tiring skirmishes with both GDI Search-and-Rescue and Nod garrisons and patrols throughout.

_"The Hexapod Mark II, while costing exponentially more than the standard version will be a weapon worthy of the Overlord himself. It's multi-Ichor-core shielding will make it nigh impervious to attacks from dozens of different sources at once and it is thrice the size of the normal version, allowing it room for a crew compartment to carry two additional infantry squads as guards, or to deploy as needed. It can also store large amounts of Ichor as needed for self-repairs for itself or to refuel. I have been granted permission to deploy it in Berne against this so-called Global Defense Initiative. They _will_ burn."_

-Scrin Foreman 007, of the _Cult of the Reaper_, one of their top Foremen in the area of unit enhancement, to Overseer Yharashrik in regards to deploying the Reaper's latest and most powerful weapon, the only prototype of its kind... with no back up prototype even close to being started.

**Chapter 13: The Second Tide Turns**

**GDI Assault Force**

**Near Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Rex looked over the map. The Scrin had fallen back to what was left of Berne… a last stand in Northern Europe, it seemed. They had an armor base and an air base set up aiding a main base loaded to the brink with some of their most powerful technology. Getting in was not going to be easy, even with the Ion Cannon network back online and volunteer recruits receiving GDI training by the truckload and swelling GDI's ranks, the aliens still had them outnumbered. Not that it had made a difference in Cologne, Deutschland, or Stuttgart.

Rex sighed as the door opened. A corporal, Corporal Timothy "Groin-shot" Turner, walked in, and saluted.

"Commander," the sniper corporal said, "recon reported from Berne. Confirmed alien presence and multiple bases. They say it's going to be dicey."

"Thank you, Corporal Turner." Rex said, "I'll address the men before we arrive. Until then, make sure we're all ready to go at a moment's notice."

As Turner left, Rex sighed. He was never trained to act as a general, his job had always been pick the target within a strategic area and blow it to hell or otherwise as ordered, and finding out how. While he could apply this in the larger scale, there was a lot more to consider then simple primary and secondary objectives, especially when he effectively _had_ no primary orders other then stop the Scrin advances in his theatre. His decision to attack Berne was stemmed from the fact the aliens had been building a strange series of structures there, and according to data files they captured at Cologne, it was capable of bringing in some of their most advanced forces, supposedly even more powerful versions of the Tripods encountered in Munich, the 'Reaper Tripods', as well as 'Traveler' units and the full Scrin airborne fleet. Rex couldn't allow that to happen. So he rallied all available forces and made straight for Berne. If all went well, GDI would win and the Scrin would suffer a major defeat… if not… Rex wasn't going to be planning anymore operations…

The door opened again, Ahsoka walked in, looking tired.

"When was the last time you slept?" Rex asked, surprised.

"When Kane drugged me back in Sarajevo." Ahsoka said, putting her hand on the wall, leaning against it. "Haven't slept since. Translating that Warp Link… fighting these invaders…"

"That was a week ago!" Rex exclaimed, surprised. "You couldn't even sleep when we were transit from Deutschland? Or even now?"

"I just can't fall asleep," Ahsoka said, sighing, falling closer to the wall. "I feel like… something's coming… a dark… foreboding feeling… and well… somehow… I keep feeling the pain from this invasion… even if it's a few thousand miles away… I really don't understand why."

Rex frowned. Sounded like Jedi stuff to him, and even after spending over a decade with Ahsoka, he still never understood how it worked. _Hang on… Tiberium amplifies her abilities…_

"Must be all the Tiberium the aliens use," Rex finally said, "You know how much that stuff affects your abilities. I'm guessing all the Tib the aliens use and kick up means that you're sensing the echoes of the battles."

Ahsoka nodded, "Makes sense but… still… I can't think it to be that simple."

Rex glanced at the clock. Five hours until they reached Berne. Since most of the GDI air transports were destroyed, Rex had to travel via land. Fortunately, it was just Blue Zones with craters from the battles, but because of the force Rex brought along, it was difficult maneuvering some areas and mountains, thus the convoy was taking a long time.

"Get some sleep, Ahsoka." Rex said, "Use the officer's quarters."

She looked at Rex, surprised.

"That's an order," Rex added, putting a tad of sternness in his voice to get the point across. "You're our best weapon against the Scrin, if what the Warp Link told you is true. Physically, you're one of GDI's best. Mentally, the aliens fear you. Tactically, you can cause them to force blunders that we can exploit. And finally… well… your unique abilities here makes you more dangerous than ever… especially with the Tiberium focus of these Scrin."

Ahsoka nodded, pushing herself off the wall and with a bit of a stumble, walked out. Rex sighed. He rarely pulled rank on her like this, but he felt it was needed. _Can't have her dying on me… between her and Sarah…_

His thoughts were interrupted by a bleeping on the map. Rex activated it, and McNeil appeared in a hologram.

"Commander Rex, I'm inbound to reinforce you. General Granger has given you command." McNeil said.

"General, what happened in Australia?"

"Nod. They hit our flanks while we were guarding the civilians. No clue why they suddenly turned on us when their command was actually honest... I'm suspecting there's rebellion in Nod now; we detected Nod units shooting each other up in Australia."

Rex nodded. "I'm en route to Berne, Switzerland; B-1. If you arrive within the day, you should be able to help out. We'll be there in a few hours and engaging the enemy from then on out until it's over."

"Understood. By the way, thank you for capturing that…" McNeil checked something on another screen, "Drone Ship, some of this data is enlightening."

Rex nodded, "Just doing my duty."

McNeil nodded, and the hologram cut.

XXXXX

**Five Hours Later**

**GDI Forward Assault Base**

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

"Alright men!" Rex shouted, "We're going in with everything we have. The invaders have had their fun, and now we're going to _send them packing!_" The men cheered at the prospect of ending the invasion.

"We've had a rough few days," Rex continued, "We've been beaten, shot, and put to the very edge of our endurance, but we held the line. We were outnumbered and losing, but we _held the line_. Now we're going to turn this around, we're going to force _them_ to hold the line, and we're going to make sure they **fail**."

"Orders have been sent to your CO's. Remember, if we win here, our families and friends back home can rest easy knowing the Invaders have been pushed out of the area. Think of them… think of the men you're fighting alongside, think of their families. Accept what will happen if we fail here, and fight to make sure _that_ doesn't happen."

Rex walked down from the crate he was standing on. The GDI Forward Base was well set up, Guardian Cannons with Rail Guns and Sonic Emitters were being set up to cover the land approach, and the skies were covered with AA turrets armed with the latest and newest Tungsten rounds, fresh from the factory and promising to bring down many alien aircraft. The base was, even though it hadn't been fully established and they were still setting up barracks complexes to house the men and an armory complex for the medics to worth within as the casualties that were going to happen came, it was a strong enough foothold to start from.

However, the landscape was blasted, a massive crater in the center. Rex looked across, facing the Scrin main base. To Rex's left, a Scrin armor base, warping in more walkers, mostly of the Scrin's mainline forces, but also some of the so-called '_Cult of the Reaper'_. To the East, an air base deploying Stormriders by the squadron and attempting to bring in heavier Scrin cruisers, their Devastator Warships and Planetary Assault Carriers. And at the opposite end, with the only way in being a death trap of defenses, was the main base. This was going to be a major battle.

"So… you're leading the attack on the armor base, Ahsoka?" Rex asked as she walked up to him. "You get some sleep?"

"Not really," Ahsoka said, "the docs gave me something to keep me up."

Rex nodded, "I assume they gave you some extra to inject in the fight if needed?"

"Yeah… hopefully I won't need it."

"Be careful out there, eh?" Rex said, before turning towards the Mammoth Tank he was going to be commanding the attack from. Rex got into the tank, and pulled up the tactical map that had been installed. Ahsoka and Sarah were going to hit the Armor base, while Fullerton lead a commando squad to infiltrate the air base and sabotage it's power, giving the Firehawks and Orcas a chance to fly in and demolish it. Because the Air Base was going to be bringing in heavy alien ships, the Ion Cannon was ready to be fired at it to begin the battle to delay if not prevent that.

_Good thing the aliens weren't able to hit the Ion Cannons once they were deployed…_ Rex decided, _we need it…_

"Prepare to fire the Ion Cannon, Stevenson." Rex said, "Fullerton, you in position?"

"Yep," Fullerton responded, "Jus' set 'em up an' I'll knock 'em down."

"Very well. Ion Cannon, Fire."

XXXX

**Ion Cannon #871**

"We have an order to fire!"

"Very well. Authorization code?"

"Delta, November, Sierra, Echo, Bravo!"

"Fire Ion Cannon."

The gunners activated, then quickly averted their eyes as the super weapon charged and fired down the central tube to the planet below.

XXXX

From orbit, eight blue beams lanced down at the alien air base, targeting its 'Gravity Stabilizers'. The beams ripped apart the nearby defenses and Devastator Warships, the plasma disc spewing capital ships, and finally, the massive beam of the Ion Cannon hit. The blast brought the Devastators down to earth and shattered the defenses, and the Stabilizers exploded, spraying whatever it was these Scrin bled, identified as liquid Tiberium. The alien air base was well cratered, but it needed further pounding to be finished; a pounding that would be delivered by a carpet bombing strike once the remaining alien anti-air was down.

"All units, _forward!"_ Rex ordered.

The Battle for Berne had begun. Behemoths deployed, and began to rain artillery shells down on the main base, where the Scrin were rallying their forces. Ahsoka's strike team , consisting of ZOCOM Infantry and a dozen Steel Talon Titans, advanced. Sarah, leading Zone Raiders and Troopers, was coming up to support the attack on the armor base. Infantry units moved into position; while most of the urban environment was gone, the crater was a blasted mess of rock and rubble, leaving them plenty of cover. Sadly, there would be exposed infantry, but the job of the tank divisions and aircraft was to make sure the Scrin didn't get a chance to abuse it. Rex was confident however, that in the armor battle, GDI would prevail. The Scrin airbase was down, and GDI's armor was in almost every case superior to its Scrin equivalent, Predators outmatched Gun Walkers and Seekers, Titans outmatched Devourer Tanks, and Mammoths could handle Tripods, especially since Rex had ordered all tanks and Titans to be outfitted with rail guns if possible; few GDI tanks lacked them now, and many Titans were sporting the Talon's new Adaptive Armor, which could absorb and redirect kinetic energy.

Rex's tank force started heading into the crater, and opened fire as the aliens came out to meet them. His tank's left gunner grunted as an alien disc hit a sweet spot between the Mammoth's treads, jerking the tank, but even with that, the spearhead of Mammoths continued, Titans behind and the Predators rolled down the crater like a horde of angry buffalo on a stampede. Shells flew over and down into the Scrin guarding the center, mostly Seekers and Gun Walkers. The Scrin units moved up, the Seekers trying to float around and dodge, but the hailstorm was far too powerful for them to even comprehend. Gun Walkers exploded, bug-like legs and armored carapace blasting all across the place, Seeker tanks exploded, some being blown improbably high by a carpet bombing strike by the Firehawks, some flying high enough to cause the pilots to swerve.

"**Warning: Ion Storm Detected!"** EVA blared out suddenly.

"What the hell…" Rex asked, pulling up the map.

XXXXX

At the armor base, just as Ahsoka and her force entered range to engage the Scrin, an Ion Storm appeared. _Oh you gotta be kidding me..._ Ahsoka thought, igniting her lightsaber and holding it ready out of instinct.

"What the HELL is that?" shouted one of the Troopers, as the Ion Storm materialized over what looked to be a giant fan, waving slowly in the wind.

"Some sorta localized Ion Storm!" Sarah shouted, surprised.

"But that's _impossible!_" McCarthy shouted back, horrified.

"Not for the aliens apparently…" Sarah commented dryly, "Get clear, before we get zapped!"

But it was too little, too late in timing. A bolt of lightning lashed out towards Ahsoka from the storm…

It lanced towards her lightsaber suddenly, and it ran down it and up her arm… Ahsoka then focused…the lightning began to reverse direction… with a mighty heave, she forced it out and back towards the column, and suddenly, the lighting blasted a part of the column off.

"What the hell was that?" Rex asked via radio.

"I have… no clue Commander…" Sarah said back over the radio dumbly. Ahsoka felt stunned from the action, stumbling back out of range. "But I think Ahsoka has a new trick… she just redirected some Ion lightning back at the column…"

"Well… that's a new one…" Rex said, dumbfounded himself. A thud on Rex's end, then he shouted, "Gunner, target that Tripod, FIRE!"

Sarah switched channels, "Behemoths, Lieutenant Granger here, requesting artillery, coordinates sent."

"Roger that. Strike confirmed. Stand by… _**Behemoth Ho**_**!**"

From the GDI base, fire roared out, arcing, and crashing down into the Storm Columns. As they collapsed, the Ion Storm dissipated. The Scrin, surprised, began to rush at the GDI forces. Disintegrators rushed forward like mindless attack dogs, firing near-blindly as they entered range. Ahsoka, recovering, watched as a certain Tripod, getting hit with a half dozen shells to its center, collapsed atop a pair of Seekers, crushing them and causing them to split in half, going flying in opposite directions and exploding upon contact with the Scrin's power generators, their Reactors.

"Watch those Gun Walkers!" Sarah shouted, firing her sonic grenade launcher. Several Shatterers moved up, and unleashed their sonic emitters at the aliens, bringing them low as the sound ripped them literally apart. Ahsoka leapt up as one of the waves nearly hit her, the gunners forgetting that Ahsoka was vulnerable to sonic waves, even if she wore the proper ear protection. GDI began to advance, keeping the pressure up. The Titan's Rail Guns blew holes in what the sonic waves couldn't hit, and the infantry went toe-to-toe with their new arch enemies. Ahsoka, after slashing a Shock Trooper in half, saw Sarah punched a Shock Trooper in the opened carapace, hitting it's odd antenna, identified as a 'Blink Pack' by the captured alien database, and shattering it, causing the Shock Trooper to seem to scream in pain and topple over. She followed it up with crushing it's face beneath her armored boot heel, the low head of the alien exploding from the sheer pressure as she pressed down, firing a sonic grenade at a Disintegrator squad, obliterating them and scattering them.

"Nice one Sarah!" Ahsoka said, before using the Force to lift a Shock Trooper up from behind Sarah and throwing him into a Tripod, dealing no damage but causing it to retract for a moment as it's driver behind the eye-like cockpit realized what had been thrown at him... or her.

XXXX

"Harold! Cover fire!"

"Sir yes sir!"

McCarthy gave several hand signals, and his squad split to take cover behind a former fence, now simply scrap metal... and cover. He knelt behind his spot and opened with his GD-2, emptying the clip into the incoming Disintegrators. Alien light walkers, _Gun Walkers_ as they were known, moved up to attack. Ducking behind the cover as the plasma bolts nearly blew his head open, he nodded to Kelleher, who fired his rocket launcher from his cover on the other side of the sidewalk. The firing stopped, and he glanced over; the Gun Walker had taken a direct hit and stumbled back, and the Titans supporting their offensive was blasting it's pointy face in. Enemy Seeker hover tanks floated up to engage, and McCarthy opened fire at one, focusing his squad's bullets to harm it's armor. While their rifles, even if modified with the Armor-Piercing ammunition, couldn't damage it enough, it was sufficient to distract it, allowing the Titans several free shots as the tanks tried to move and avoid the rail gun rounds while simultaneously being pricked by dozens of bullets a second.

"Incoming Shock Troopers!" McCarthy shouted, "Target the leader!"

He ducked as they launched their discs at him, but the aliens, failing to take advantage of human made cover, were riddled with bullets from not only McCarthy's squad, but other squads to. Sniper rounds range out, and the Shock Troopers dropped head with their heads nothing more than an exploded mass of green goo.

Emptying the remaining shots of his rifle into a still-moving corpse of a Shock Trooper, he reloaded and got out of cover, seeing Ahsoka come down onto the Shock Trooper he was about to fill with holes and cut it in half.

XXXX

**En Route to Ayer's Rock**

**Australian Outback**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

The Insurgent looked at the tactical map as she rode in the Reckoner Transport. Ajay was visible from his camera, reading the orders she had sent, and smiled. "Hell yeah," he said, then handed the folder to a female officer. "Didn't I tell you Kane was still kicking?"

"Yes, you did." the Insurgent responded.

"OK, first you're going to have to storm Kilian's base, and once you've secured it, you have to wipe out any loyalist forces, she'll be forced to surrender. And _then_ she'll have to answer to_ the __**man**_. Of course, GDI wants some payback, their survivors who McNeil lost contact with after the nuke went off are presumed dead by all GDI reports and will have to be soon. They've deployed a small outpost nearby and managed to get an Ion Cannon raised; same one we knocked out of communication with our Shadows in Sydney, so this is a no-GDI reinforcement battle. Can't bring in your whole force until you've infiltrated the compound and gained command control, and you can't let GDI get the Ion Cannon online either. You're pick."

"Understood, send the men to capture the GDI base before they can have the Ion Cannon fire, my team will handle Kilian."

Ajay nodded.

XXXX

**Nod Field Outpost**

**Kings Canyon, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ajay turned, the noted a transmission, recorded, for the commander...

"_Commander!_" Kilian said in the transmission, shocked as several explosions hit the facility she was in, soldiers rushing all over the place to try and keep it operational, "_Kane's ordering our soldiers to stand down against the Invaders! It's _insanity_ they're getting __**slaughtered**__ out there! I respect your loyalty to Kane, but for the good of the Brotherhood for the good of all __**mankind**__, to please abort this mission! Together, you and I... we could figure out away to turn this around! Please, Commander, you're my only hope_!"

_"Incomin..."_ one of the soldiers in the background of the transmission said before it cut to static.

Ajay frowned. _What is she talking about?..._ He typed into his computer, and calling up several battlefield reports... Nod soldiers, previously engaging offensive aliens in the field were suddenly falling back... and the aliens were assaulting them... then he turned to another, and saw that the aliens spontaneously assaulted a small Nod base consisting only of a Hand of Nod and a power plant to power the facility... just for being there!

_What the hell... is he telling our men not to defend themselves?_ He paused, worried. He checked a report; Kane had indeed sent orders specifying not to engage the aliens, the 'Visitors'. _Those orders didn't say common sense, and well, it isn't a crime to defend yourself as you get clear to leave the aliens to their work._ Then remembered his mission, but before he relayed the orders for it, he mislabeled a transmission as from Kane, ordering Nod soldiers to avoid antagonizing the aliens and leave if they come, but if necessary, to defend themselves, making it look like a reminder of common sense... _Yeah, that sounds like one of Kane's orders..._ Then he turned to his mission, to coordinate the attack on the small GDI survivor outpost and knock out it's Ion Cannon uplink, which GDI would rig to explode if Nod tried to capture it, as they never wanted a repeat of their near-miss in the First Tiberium War when Nod captured a GDI base in Johannesburg and gained control of the Ion Cannon network, temporarily, but GDI's counter-hackers managed to shut it down before it could be turned against the world.

XXXX

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

The Titans took point, opening fire on everything in sight. Ahsoka, deflecting plasma discs away from GDI, covered the advance. As they broke through, it became clear it was a hastily established field base, not a carefully planned base as InOps had suspected. Ahsoka leapt over the battlefield and landed on a Scrin _Devourer_ tank, the same that Rex had faced at the Steel Talon's facility, and the same she had 'hijacked' in Cologne. She impaled the cockpit, hitting the tank's driver, and pulled the blade out, raising it to parry defensive batteries armed with plasma discs, the Scrin's _Photon Cannons_. The Titan squadron marched up behind her, and the Scrin were going to meet it with Devourer tanks. Ahsoka back flipped over another spray of discs, landing on its launcher, another Photon Cannon, and slashed the open hand like structure in half, and she leapt back before it exploded.

The Titans and Devourers opened fire on each other, both out of range, but the Devourer got the first hit, damaging a Titan with its beam weapon and causing it to limp. The Titans opened a second volley with their Rail Guns, scoring hits and knocking out two of the twelve Devourer tanks, but the Scrin tanks fired back, and a Titan collapsed, nearly crushing a Zone Trooper squad as the infantry advance continued, moving from cover to cover, their cover steadily becoming alien building ruins rather than human building ruins. Another Titan's cockpit exploded as its power generator was pierced bu multiple hits simultaneously and detonated. The Titans fired another volley, this time focusing fire in groups, blasting apart three of the ten remaining Devourer tanks. The Devourers moved back towards the base, attempted to get out of range of the Titan's brutal rail guns, which punched holes the size of bodies into the sides of the enemy tanks.

Ahsoka leapt over, coming down in front of the GDI infantry, and rushed forward with them as they moved to their last waypoint; an abandoned warehouse that they'd use for cover against the aliens, but the aliens had garrisoned it with buzzers, which seemed to now be blocking the doors. A GDI grenade flew in, and exploded, clearing the empty apartment of the buzzers, and the infantry rushed in, taking over the position, using the only floor, the ground floor, and opened fire on the incoming alien Disintegrators and Gun Walkers from safe cover. Predator Tanks, fresh from the War Factory and crewed with recently-landed tank crews fresh from academy, rolled up to support the offensive. Ahsoka caught sight of Sarah taking a shard to the shoulder, but her armor held and she repaid the hit in kind with a rocket-propelled sonic grenade.

XXXX

Rex swore as a Tripod collapsed next to the tank, nearly slamming into and crippling it, crushing the cockpit like a plastic bottle. He looked at the tactical map of the skirmish; "Mammoth 662, 664, target the Tripod at point seven-four."

"_Flatten them!_" ordered one of the other Mammoth tank crewmen from their tank, and the two Mammoths did just that, firing their dual rail guns and dual-dual rocket launchers, four powerful rail gun bursts and eight rockets later, the alien Tripod was bloodied and battered, ready to collapse.

"Gunner, target the tripod at point seven-four. Finish him!"

"Yes sir!... aim! FIRE!"

The final burst finished the Tripod off, nailing it in what had been identified as a cockpit, it's giant eye in the center, just above where it's triple arm-cannons connected to the torso. The tripod collapsed and shattered as it tumbled down the hill into the middle of the crater, falling backwards.

"_They're guarding something down here..._" said a GDI Predator Tank crewwoman, "_This crater... looks like it was excavated._"

"_Yeah..._" answered a Titan jockey, "_Wait; hey! Look! A gigantic hunk a blue Tib! That's what they were after!_"

"_They were after a big subterranean... Gunner, Seeker at 10 o'clock, fire!... hunk of Tib? What the hell? All this for that? They can get that in a Red Zone!_"

"Watch yourselves!" Rex said, "Incoming hover tanks! All units, fire at will!"

Seekers and Devourer Tanks floated up and opened fire, the Seekers taking point and attempted to sift between the GDI advance, but the Predators, between the Mammoths, fired on them, keeping them from achieving that purpose while the Mammoths blasted the Devourer tanks. But the Scrin did not go out without a fight. To Rex's left, a Mammoth exploded from a number of Devourer beams and Seeker plasma discs bombarding it, crushing the command cabin wide open and setting off the Mammoth's interior fuel lines. While none of the Seekers made it through the Mammoths, the numbers got them close enough that a number of Predators exploded from the barrage.

"_Fullerton to Commander, come in!_"

"I hear you Fullerton, what's your status?" Rex didn't like the sound of Fullerton's voice...

_"Airbase disabled, and the Ion Cannon Beacon is placed in the sweet spot. Fire at will, would you?"_

"Understood. Ion Cannon, come in."

_**"Ion Cannon Control, ten-four."**_

"Fire Ion Cannon at beaconed location. Confirmation code _Delta, November, Sierra, Echo, Bravo_."

_**"Understood, Ion Cannon activated."**_

XXXX

**Outside Nod Command Headquarters**

**Ayer's Rock, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

The Insurgent checked the charge on her _Assassination_-class laser pistol, making sure the cord connecting it to its power supply held. She was, while not a full commando of Nod, fully proficient with the necessary weapons for them and had often fought as an infantrywoman during her various insurgencies against GDI, and as such had access to advanced training as a necessity. And now she was heading in with a small, elite team consisting of a fully upgraded Avatar, fully armed including the rarely-given stealth module, a group of three Shadow Teams, four Saboteurs, and a single Specter for any artillery strikes she would need. It was a small team to storm a headquarters with, but with the GDI attack, they could not afford a massive siege.

GDI's remnant units had organized and were laying siege, having used their surviving MCV to create a small outpost which Ajay was knocking out, but the outpost was able to, using the Tiberium plentiful in this Yellow Zone, to micro-manufacture all the needed equipment; including to her great irritation the parts to restore Juggernauts, whose husks had been left behind from the various battles. Although the Juggernauts were launching barrages at the Ayer's Rock base, they did not yet have a solution on the main building, which could not be destroyed by common outside means due to extreme Tiberium-based reinforcement and redundant armored compartments in the first two floors towards the exterior.

She nodded, and the small team moved out, intending to briefly disable a small position at the bottom of Ayer's Rock and use the opening in Kilian's SAM defenses to fly the Shadow team up and open a tunnel entrance, allowing a strike team that was going to travel over by Reckoner later on to storm the stronghold itself.

She nodded, and the Avatar moved up; they were approaching from the south, where GDI would not gain easy access into the lower base. The Avatar, outranging the Shredder turrets positioned there, knocked out the hub, destroying the Shredder turrets. "Go!" she ordered, and they sprinted forward and into the base. On-duty militants swore, grabbing their assault rifles, but it was too late: The Shadows shot them mercilessly, leaving them dead before they could even get a single shot off. The Saboteurs quickly worked, and gained control of the small foot-base's Construction Yard and Operations Center.

"Units, stand down," the Insurgent ordered the Nod soldiers in the lower base, "It's Kane's order."

The small base stood down, and now, if needed, she had a staging ground to assault Kilian's position.

The Shadows flew up, landing at the top, dodging SAM rockets, and they entered the Temple of Nod that controlled the tunnel's elevator. The Insurgent nodded as a Reckoner approached, carrying a Black Hand assault squad lead by none other than Brother Marcion.

Several minutes later, the tunnel opened and the Black Hand Reckoner arrived; they rushed inside and up the tunnel, and emerged in the Temple of Nod. The Shadows were there, waiting for them... the Insurgent noted that another one was missing; then she spotted the body. _A shame._

"Commander, Kilian is in her bunker. We must move swiftly." the lead Shadow said.

"Lead on." she said, "Let's storm the base."

XXXX

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Fullerton coughed, spitting blood out of his mouth, his helmet lying discarded somewhere in the chaotic battlefield. Soldiers left and right were holding the line against surviving alien infantry while the Firehawks flew in and engaged the remaining Scrin aircraft. Behind him, he heard the Ion Cannon strike hit the earth and obliterate the base, but some survivors were still pushing forward to attack, and a piece of the concrete fence exploded near him, blinding him for a few seconds with dust and making him cough even worse as it got into his bleeding chest.

"Hold on, Lieutenant," the medic attending Fullerton said, "You're in no condition to fight..."

He coughed again, "I... can fight..."

The medic pushed him back, and Fullerton instinctively kicked out, but the medic was smart and positioned himself on the side... he felt something inject into the shoulder joint of his armor... a syringe.

His vision clouded as the medic pulled out tools... and he fell unconscious.

XXXX

The Drone Platform in the armor base fell, and Ahsoka nodded. The base was destroyed...

**"Air base destroyed,"** EVA reported.

"_Lieutenant_!" Sarah shouted, "_Tripods just teleported down the damn cliff_!"

Ahsoka swore, sprinting forward to see Sarah and the other Zone infantry jump jetting to dodge a dozen Tripods... Ahsoka leapt up, and landed on a Tripod, and stabbed it in the eye; she sensed the pilot within die, and leapt off, landing on the next one that was marching over a Zone Raider on the floor. She missed her landing, and grabbed one of the gun arms; her lightsaber falling to the ground...

She held on as the Tripod tried to throw her off, and steadily crawled to the center... _Maybe I can take this one over..._ Ahsoka thought, reaching the Tripod's eye and confirming it was a Reaper Tripod. She used the Force to yanked the 'eyelid' out, revealing a Assimilator within, which swore, _"Reaper Tripod 312 is compromised!"_

Ahsoka smiled, and yanked the alien out with the Force, and leapt into the center... she glanced around; surprisingly, this one had standard controls... similar to Zone Armor, but with an extra leg... _This'll be awkward,_ Ahsoka decided as she slipped into two of the leg holes and put her arms into two of the arm holes...

A hologram immediately appeared; she had control of two guns and two legs. _That'll do;_ she aimed at a nearby Tripod, a standardized _Annihilator_, and she tried to figure out how to fire...

Her inability to fire cost several Zone Troopers their lives, the soldiers flying impossibly high as the other Tripod's lasers flew off... Ahsoka felt frustration rise; by moving her hands, she could aim, but why couldn't she _fire?_

Finally, she aimed at a Tripod and just used the Force through the guns, hoping maybe they'd overload... they fired, hitting the Tripod square to the side and shredding one of the cannons off. The Tripods, or rather, their drivers, began to swear and turned towards Ahsoka. She felt pain lance back into her through her primitive connection with the device as the other Tripods beat the crap out of the one she hijacked. She suddenly felt a final spike of pain, nearly knocking her unconscious... the Tripod fell backwards, eye up... Ahsoka pulled her legs out of the sockets and leapt out, landing on the husk and leaping out of the way as the other Tripods attempted to vaporize her. Then, an airstrike from Orcas flew in, bombarding the other Tripods with sonic bombs, the Tripods having an allergic reaction to the sonics, which let the Titans finish them off. Ahsoka glanced around, catching her breath and looking for her lightsaber...

"Looking for this?" Said a Zone Raider behind her; Ahsoka glanced, and saw Sarah holding her lightsaber...

"Thanks." Ahsoka said, smiling.

"No problem," Sarah answered, "Just don't drop it lit again, you nearly took my head off."

"Sorry."

XXXX

**Ayer's Rock, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

The Insurgent shot a technician, causing him to drop dead, then she sprinted up, and punched Kilian in the face, barreling into the woman and pinning her to the floor. The Black Hand soldiers quickly executed the other technicians and controllers. Marcion walked up and nodded to the Insurgent, who let him take custody of Kilian.

She walked up to the command center, and cited, "_Abel-Job-Delta-Moses._" It was a code given to her to give her full control of the forces in Ayer's Rock.

**"Battle Control Acknowledging new Commander. Battle Control, Online."**

She cleared her throat, "Soldiers of Nod; be aware that General Qatar is unable to do her duties. I shall take command as we hold the line against GDI. Prepare one of our nuclear warheads to launch at the invading GDI units."

_"But, sir, we only have..."_

"That's an order, soldier."

_"Yes ma'am..."_

She glanced at the counter on the top left-hand corner of the control; 3 minutes until the nuke was ready; three minutes to hold GDI's brutal offensive on their gates.

XXXX

Sergeant Tattle Parry Kael ducked as he reloaded his GD-2, and then rose, shooting a defending Nod militant in the chest, then another, then another. His squad was pushing through; their Mammoths were advancing forward and blasting through the two Nod Obelisks; but were heavily damaged in the process. The Juggernauts resumed bombardment after a reloading cycle, hitting the Nod Air Towers and knocking them out, denying Nod a place to reload it's aircraft.

"Keep pushing!" he ordered, "Forward advance! Bravo Squad, _cover fire!_"

Several GDI soldiers and the snipers opened fire on the Nod elite soldiers, Black Hand Confessors, bunkering up ahead, keeping them pinned and unable to rise without getting shot. The GDI remnant soldiers rushed forward; but a Nod _Armageddon_ bomber came flying in from elsewhere... and dropped what looked to be a vapor bomb...

"Get to cover!" He ordered, ducking out of the way as the soldiers scattered, but the tanks couldn't, and the Predators exploded as the Tiberium-laced bomb exploded, creating a dazing light and knocking him back into a disabled Nod power plant. Stars exploded in front of him as he wondered where the hell their Slingshot anti-aircraft hovercraft were...

XXXX

The Insurgent smiled as she saw the strike, glad that the Specter artillery hanging just outside the combat zone and relying on Shadow Team beacons was able to obliterate the GDI Slingshots, leaving their central strike open.

XXXX

Brother Ayden Aras ducked as GDI riflemen regrouped; he was a common militant, yes, but he was an _experienced_ militant, and was wearing Nod's old combat armor, augmented with stolen GDI composite armor. He ducked and fired his stolen GD-2 rifle, catching a GDI riflewoman in the chest repeatedly and causing her to drop, a series of holes right above her heart and some of them nearly ripping her head off. Several accelerated bullets ricocheted and knocked out two of his experienced comrades. _Damn it, _he thought as he reloaded. Even battered, worn, and beaten, GDI could still assault a fully built Nod position... _then again, Kilian was pretty lazy with our defenses... after all, she let a small strike team take our supposedly secret tunnel into the base..._

He rose and moved to a new piece of cover as his previous one, a crate of foodstuffs, was about to start letting bullets through. He leapt over a new one, a barrel filled with what looked to him like milk, and opened fire, gunning down another GDI rifleman.

XXXX

Sergeant Kael swore as one militant was giving his men difficulty; "Focus fire on that militant, he's competent!" _Oh how that is just hilarious... in a morbid and sadistic manner..._ He grabbed his auxiliary grenade and threw it...

XXXX

Ayden saw the grenade, and as soon as it landed, he grabbed it and threw it back, but instead of at the GDI sergeant who threw it, he threw it at a missile squad... but it felt short and detonated harmlessly on a Predator Tank's husk. He ducked as a sniper rifle round nearly took his neck off, hyperventilating briefly as the adrenaline rush kicked in; he glanced over and saw the Sniper, taking cover in an old Nod guard tower... "Cover me!" he said to his squad, and crawled out, getting behind one of the Hands of Nod, and sprinted... getting clear just as the Hand of Nod collapsed from GDI R3-S6 missiles. He glanced behind him, _Shit!_ The Hand of Nod's orb had fallen and was following him; he sprinted, but the orb caught up... just as he thought it was about to crush him and roll him into something resembling paste, it stopped. Leaning on a wall, panting, and uttering thankful prayers, he took half a minute to recover.

XXXX

Kael cursed, then he heard the report; _Black Hand flame troopers!_ "Fuck, fire on those Flame troopers!" he ordered, turning and opening fire as he saw at least two dozen Black Hand Flame troopers march down confidently. He fired; he knew he had something of an effect, but their armor held... he ducked as the competent militant and his squad opened fire again. _Damn it, not good!_ "Snipers! What are you waiting for?"

No answer...

"**FIRE EVERYTHING DAMNIT**!"

XXXX

**"Nuclear Missile: Ready."**

"Hope you know what you're aiming at," Ajay said, his mission successful, "We only have so many of those things."

"I know," The Insurgent responded, "But those trucks had several warheads a piece; we're fine."

Ajay nodded grimly. The big red button blinked on the Insurgent's console, and she pressed it.

**"Enter coordinates."**

She entered them.

**"Nuclear Missile; Launched."**

XXXX

"Son of a bitch!" Kael swore, "They're going to nuke us!"

"Are they crazy? We're in their goddamn base!" Janice swore, ducking as her missile launcher was shot off of her shoulder by a Confessor's heavy assault rifle... some form of laser weapon. She grabbed her combat pistol.

"They're fanatics!" he shouted, bracing for nuclear fire...

He heard the silence... and a silenced _boom_ echoed across the battlefield... but the nuclear fire never came... the Juggernaut artillery was silent... _Oh no... oh no oh no oh no..._

Suddenly he heard a sickening scream; he whirled around, Janice was _on fire_, bright blue flames consuming her... she screamed, a scream so horrifying he couldn't describe it. The jet-blue flames burned her even as she ran around, screaming for dear mercy... her legs began to melt, as were her arms and head... they looked almost like a complete _liquid_ to him... he couldn't believe the sight; it was... _wrong_.

Suddenly, like a melting plastic toy soldier, Janice collapsed, and with it, the beauty she had under her combat helmet; a human being reduced to a pile of flaming _**human **_goop... he wanted to throw up; he felt the bile rising in his belly... then he felt the heat of over a thousand suns bursting together, millions of nuclear warheads going off with him at ground zero; and in that instant of pain, he knew no more...

Save that as he screamed for death, his body would _Act on Instinct_.

XXXX

Brother Ayden Aras smiled as he watched the GDI soldiers burn... at first. Then he saw them literally melting into piles of blue-burning goo... and felt his stomach church, just the sight of people, fascist oppressors or not, being melted in front of his eyes... the last GDI infantry squad was breaking off and trying to escape... and a single Venom flew after and gunned them down...

"Ayden?" asked one of the militants who were in his squad, a young woman from what was left of southern California, USA.

"Huh? Oh... sorry. Just... thinking." He saw it again, flashing before his eyes, people just _melting_, screaming like they were being burned by Satan himself... he didn't know if he could sleep again after seeing that sight... _Now I'm glad I didn't join the Black Hand..._

"Yeah," she answered, "sickens me too; poor bastards... kills them instantly, right?"

He paused, "Believe it or not, I hope it does. I don't think anyone deserves to live through that..."

XXXX

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

GDI was about to make the final push towards the true challenge: The main base, and the advance was holding while GDI regrouped.

"Alright," Rex said, "Stark choice time. We can assault the base and take a lot of casualties, but prevent enemy reinforcements from getting here in time and potentially overwhelming us, or we can set up defense and wait for McNeil, and potentially face very long odds as they warp in more troops constantly, but the Ion Cannon strikes would keep them checked somewhat."

Ahsoka shut her eyes and Sarah looked over the makeshift barricade of tanks. They were meeting behind a wall of GDI tanks, mostly Mammoths, as Behemoths moved up to the half-way point down the crater for much more accurate attacks. The Scrin had fallen back to their base, and began to dig in even further.

EVA suddenly made their choice for them: **"Commander, satellite scans report a massive alien vehicle being brought in via a Warp Chasm. You must stop whatever it is they are bringing in from arriving."**

Rex cursed. "Alright, form up. Mammoths take point, Titans behind. Predators, stand by to swarm, you're our most numerous armor, so once the line is broken, make sure the opening is _abused_ as painfully as possible. Shatterers, use your fire tactically to knock out enemy strong points. Slingshots, be ready to knock out alien air. Everyone else, keep all the fire you can going while we advance. Behemoths! Target the Photon Cannons and Plasma Missile Batteries; we can't let the aliens shoot down our tanks or aircraft!"

"Roger that, Behemoth in motion for deployment."

"_Mammoth Tanks prepped' to advance."_

"_Titans ready_."

"_Predator Tanks, ready to roll_."

"_Shatterers standing by_."

"_Slingshots ready to hunt_."

Rex nodded. "Fullerton's hurt, a Shock Trooper managed to injure him, and his squad took some losses, but they stopped the Scrin from bringing in their super-heavy capital ships, their Planetary Assault Carriers."

The two nodded, and Ahsoka pulled out a small needle, injecting what looked to Rex like GDI's standard combat stimulant, which was like getting spiked with caffeine and with medical aid to boot. "I'll take point on a Mammoth; see if I can't cover the advance."

Rex nodded. "Try to deflect the discs back at the aliens that fire them."

_"General McNeil to Commander Rex, please respond."_

"Rex here, what's your status McNeil?"

_"I'm inbound with reinforcements to help you tackle the main base. ETA is fifty minutes."_

"Don't have that I'm afraid," Rex said, "The aliens are warping in something big and we need to stop it before it deploys. According to the databank, we think it's one of their super weapons."

_"Understood. Push it pilot!"_

The Ion Cannon fired again, blasting a considerable chunk of the defenses away from the Warp Chasm, but the blast left the Chasm itself barely intact. The Behemoths attempted to target it and finish the job, but suddenly, it phased out of existence… partially.

_"They're using some sort of phase generators!"_ shouted an Orca pilot, who was hanging high in the air on spotter duty.

"Understood. Armor division, advance! Infantry, right behind them, don't let anything sift into advance. Zone units, you are ordered to jump jet to the side cliffs and harass the alien defenses, hit them, get out of range, lure them to our forward position, then repeat, keep the aliens thinking about too many things at once."

GDI first had to break through rows upon rows of Photon Cannons, spewing out discs of plasma like it was no tomorrow. Two Mammoths on the end of the spearhead exploded as the discs finally brought them down. Titans advanced up behind, taking a beating themselves. Behemoth artillery shells kept raining down onto the defenses, blasting some apart.

XXX

Ahsoka kept deflecting disc after disc back, but even she couldn't stop all of them. However, her cover was making an effect. The aliens couldn't just stand out of range and spew their discs down onto GDI, they had to be cautious of return fire, and the Mammoths got close enough now to return the favor. She nearly fell off the Mammoth she was riding on as she felt the sheer kinetic energy of the dual rail guns echo across, knocking her senses literally out and leaving her to rely on her sight and the Force to react. She could feel the death and destruction swirling through the force like a maelstrom of terror and pain, black as the horrors of war truly were. She saw a Scrin centipede-like walker advance, a Corruptor; she focused on it, using the Tiberium vat as a homing beacon for the Force, and lifted it up, hurling it at the Scrin defenses; she knelt on the Mammoth, nearly losing her head to a disc that nailed the Tank's side and nudged it to the left, but the tank did not halt; no, it kept going through the valley of death, charging at what may of been the Grim Reaper itself, and giving it the bird with the words _Fuck you._

Firehawks flew in from the sides, dodging anti-aircraft plasma discs and unleashed a payload on the enemy defenses, then Staroboosting out of the area and into the Stratosphere, then coming down at the GDI base to rearm and repair. Orcas flew in the now-exposed areas and had passage into the alien base, releasing a payload of sonic rockets onto the enemy power supply before pulling out. ZOCOM Ceramic Armor kept the Orca's intact as enemy Shock Troopers and Seekers returned fire on their way to the front. Several defenses went offline as a result.

Finally, they broke through. The massive alien base, housing technology far beyond what mankind was meant to see was working overtime to bring in reinforcements, and the spam of alien was slowing GDI down, but it could not stop them. Many Titans were smoking wrecks, five of the forty-three Mammoths now out of commission, and countless dead were strewn about the field; if they weren't reduced to dust by the sheer volume of Tiberium bits blasted around the battlefield by the dead aliens. Predators were scattered and crushed like bugs across the advance, having been sometimes literally _raped_ by the incoming fire, and while dependable and versatile, the Predator had its limits, as their unfortunate crews found out the hard way. GDI began demolishing the base as they went, leaving nothing standing. They had blasted the alien units out of existence, and now _**abused**_ the vulnerable base with their high-caliber smoothbore cannons, rockets, and rail guns, leaving nothing intact as they blasted structural weak joints, causing buildings to collapse and implode from sheer super-structural weakness cause by compromised integrity from repeated hits from GDI's durable, dependable, _powerful_ heavy weaponry.

The Drone Ship collapsed under a focused attack by the Behemoths, and the Warp Chasm was now vulnerable… An Ion Cannon strike soared down upon it, creating a massive shockwave that blinded the GDI forces briefly, but once more, the aliens phased it out of the way, making the strike deal moderate, but not heavy, damage to the thing. Finally, roar echoed across the field. A roar so savage it echoed like the roar of a wild animal, a human before the times of civilization. A roar so powerful it literally shook GDI's equipment and the very earth itself. A roar so terrifying that even Ahsoka felt something land in her regulation undergarments...

Out of the Warp Chasm, came a massive, Six-legged hexapod with a massive head and insectoid body, looking like a six-legged spider with tentacles coming out of its head. On each leg, was a weapon, ranging from Tiberium shard launchers to plasma disc launchers were mounted. It was easily a fifth the size of the Pentagon, and it had two giant bug eyes which could look at someone and they would run away screaming and leaving waste behind. It's mouth had tentacles that looked to be something out of Lovecraftian horror stories of ancient eldritch abominations and dead gods that still dreamt. And it was now there, standing in Berne, in front of a whole GDI army, staring at them, _challenging_ them... the unthinkable that one thing could challenge a GDI task force the size of three regiments, one mainline, one Steel Talon, one ZOCOM... and even together they were challenged.

An Eradicator Hexapod had arrived.

And GDI was in serious trouble… to put _it mildly_.

XXXX

"Focus fire on the Hexapod!" Rex shouted, taking cover as several discs that overshot from the Hexapod's initial exploded around him, exploding an ammunition dump and sending soldiers flying. He was about to order an Ion Cannon strike when suddenly, a massive shield erupted around the Hexapod, absorbing the GDI attacks with no visible effects on the shield save oscilation as it shifted the kinetic energy of the attacks away.

It looked towards a group of Shatterers, which had already lanced at it with their sonic waves, only for them to bounce off the shield. The Hexapod almost seemed to be... laughing at the attacks, then cocked its head towards them, spraying a massive volley of green plasma discs. The Shatterers exploded as they tried to dodge the hailstorm and got hit by the discs, thick enough that the drivers must not of been able to see the sun through the bright barrage.

A dozen Mammoths rolled up, firing with brutal accuracy, their shots going perfectly to the joints, but the shields took the hits from _two dozen __**dual**__ rail guns_ with _**ease**_. It hurled its discs at the Mammoths, not even stopping to aim, causing two of the tanks to explode; then it marched with what felt like deliberate slowness up onto a pair of back-pedaling _Mammoth Tanks_; Rex heard the crew officer shouting desperately, _"Turn it around, turn it a-Gahahahaha... ahhhh..."_ The Hexapod simply walked over the Mammoth, crushing it with simple pressure put on; several shots opened fire on its rear as Predators maneuvered around it, using their jack-of-all trades design to proverbially strafe the Hexapod, but even with _dozens_ of rail guns blasting at it, the shield held... it flickered, but then the other Scrin units and some more from the remaining two Portals and remaining Warp Sphere came and engaged the Predators, causing them to explode six by six... Infantry didn't even bother trying to fight, they _ran for their god damn lives_, and that was all they _**could**_ do against it. Orcas and Firehawks dived in, dropping dozens of bombs, Hellcat, sonic, and otherwise, but all they could do was cause the shield to flicker further... then they ran out of ammunition. Hammerheads overhead sprayed bullets by the metric ton down, but even with the repeated fire they couldn't keep the shields flickering... and the Hexapod hurled discs and Tiberium shards up at the Hammerheads, knocking them out of the sky three by three.

"Fall back!" Rex shouted, gesturing wildly with his arms to get the point across, even if the soldiers weren't able to see it at the front, "Fighting retreat! Behemoths, target that thing, focused fire! Bring it down or at least _slow it!_"

_"Back to base!"_ shouted a Mammoth tank's officer, fear permeating his voice; and the GDI soldiers' disciple just broke at the sound of a Mammoth Tank officer losing his cool, they couldn't stand against the Hexapod and the remaining Scrin units; they fled. Zone Troopers turned and jump jetted awkwardly, trying to use their rail guns to at least trip the incoming units up, but the heavy shard launchers from the Hexapod knocked down any who went airborne, and it advanced to the base entrance.

"**Commander, a power scan coupled with studying the alien database indicates that it is mounted with a special, experimental dual shielding device. You will be unable to hurt it with conventional weapons short of firepower beyond humanity at this point. However, the device itself is vulnerable, and is located on the Hexapod at the tail. If a back-side strike was accurate enough, it could disrupt the shields enough for them to be disabled. If not..." **EVA couldn't describe it, it was not in her programming.

"Some help EVA! We can't get a flanking on it; it's got all angles covered by those reinforcements!" Rex shouted.

_"Sir! We're falling back, we can't make a dent in it!"_ shouted the Steel Talon's Mammoth Tank officer, _"Jesus Christ, I never thought I'd see the day when Mammoths were... son of a bitch!"_ then static; the Hexapod had staked a pair of dead Mammoth Tanks and threw them at the GDI forces, crushing a Mammoth Tank and they bounced along, crushing infantry and Predator Tanks alike, before finally stopping as they hit a Titan... and knocked it over, causing it to explode as it landed on a volatile and abandoned fuel truck.

"All units fall back to the base. Firehawks, prepare to carpet bomb the thing from behind once we lure it into a trap… use the Stratoboosters. Get it right, Captain Horn, it may be our only hope... EVA, get me McNeil!"

XXXX

McNeil watched in horror as he saw the Hexapod... then Rex's hologram appeared,

"Commander, what the _fuck_ is that thing?"

_"Some sort of Scrin super unit, we're going to try and knock out it's shields, but no promises!"_

McNeil snarled, "EVA, order the Ion Cannon to target that thing."

**"Ion Cannon Ready."**

"Fire."

He watched on the map as the Ion Cannon fired... it hit the Hexapod, the shields almost depleted and fluctuating... then before the barrage of GDI rounds hit it, it drained some hidden reservoirs inside of it and the shields, taking a green tint of Tiberium, seemed to refuel and absorb the blast... some rounds made it through, but a nearby Scrin Corruptor began to spray down the hazard areas, healing it...

"DAMN IT!" McNeil shouted, punching the holo-screen and would have broken it if it was glass.

An explosion of Rex's end, _"You'll have to help us, General McNeil, you're our only hope of evacuation or even slowing that damn thing down..."_

"Sir, I lost the Commander."

XXXX

**Ayer's Rock, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Kane walked into the command center, flanked by two Black Hand Confessors, and glanced at a dead technician. He nudged him with his foot, "Such a pity." he remarked, "But doubt is a cancer and must be eradicated." He nodded to the Insurgent, "Well done."

He heard a woman grunting, struggling, and saw Marcion pulling Kilian, supported by a female Black Hand Disciple, _An ode to irony..._ Kane thought as he looked at her, knowing her identity. They threw Kilian forward, and she had a snarl on her face, ready to whirl around and punch them... then she saw Kane, and he let himself feel satisfaction as her jaw dropped. He was about to sigh in disappointment, then thought, _No, too revealing... cold calm would be more effective image wise._ Letting his voice drip with disappointment, along with the necessary hint of hurt from the betrayal, calm and controlled, he began,

"I gave you _everything_, Kilian. An army to _command_, a place in my Inner Circle, a _future_..." he paused a moment, to let it sink in, "A future _beyond_ your wildest _dreams._ And all I asked for in return... was your _faith_."

"My faith is strong," Kilian responded with a quiet fierceness that Kane recognized in her former lover, and a trait that had passed down. "I believe in the _Brotherhood_, and I believe you have **forsaken** your followers."

"Get me Ajay." Kane said to the Insurgent, who nodded and typed into the console she was manning, then stepped back to watch the procedure. Ajay appeared. _Ah yes, Ajay... a loyal follower,_ Kane thought, smiling in his head, _a loyal follower with the mentality to question and even subtly rectify my orders. Indeed, he is possibly one of my truest Disciples; a pity, it would be to have to remove him if he went too far with his faith._

XXXXX

Ajay watched through the monitor, and Kane began, "Tell me again, Ajay,"

"Sir." Ajay answered confidently, knowing that with Kane, things would be good for the Brotherhood.

"Tell me about... Sarajevo." Ajay saw Kilian's head lower, in shame... or was it something more? He remembered Kilian's transmission... how he modified Kane's orders to prevent needless deaths... he shook it off, but he was uneasy, "Uhhh... It's all a little fuzzy, sir."

"You said you witnessed Kilian's forces ambush the commander..." Kane continued to question, then Kilian interrupted him.

"It was a renegade battalion, under a GDI mole in charge!"

"You said that she not only endangered myself, but my _science ministers_ and the _**future of the Brotherhood!**_"

Ajay felt sweat building; he always disliked Kilian, and he always made things sound worse... but it was always a veneer over the stress of war; was it really going to now come and condemn her for doing her best with the limited knowledge she had? _Why am I even feeling these things?_ he wondered...

"It's _**hearsay**_," Kilian shouted back, "You have no _proof!_" Ajay shifted, uncomfortable; she was right, it _was_ hearsay, as he wasn't actually _at_ the battle itself...

"Ajay's faith has never been questioned," Kane said simply, as if correcting a child, the condescending tone, so subtle, worthy of a magnificent bastard, "if he testifies against you, it's all the proof I need. Besides, there's personal motive for you to send troops in, as, after all, the troop of GDI attacking the Temple at the time was of ZOCOM... with a certain General's daughter."

Ajay saw Kilian's eyes widen... but for what reason, he couldn't recognize... was she wondering how the hell it was involved? That was all Ajay could think of; Kilian only joined Nod after the Firestorm Crisis, but she was one of the few Kane said to be "truly faithful" during that time... in fact, her proper joining happened just after the Great Rio Insurrection, but she had done actions for Nod before then...

"Now, Ajay, tell me, did you see Kilian's troops there?"

"Ah..." Ajay stuttered, "I didn't actually say I saw Kilian's troops in Sarajevo... ah, I wasn't..."

"You assured me that she was_ plotting behind my back, __you called her actions __**treacherous!**_" Kane's voice rose as he said those words to him, Ajay could feel the raw anger, the anger of being betrayed; he felt cornered; he was faithful to Nod, loyal to Kane... but could he condemn someone who had done the best that he, possibly even better, then he could of done in the same place, with the same knowledge?

"And we both know," Kane finished, "that the punishment for treason... is _death_."

Kilian stared at him, her gaze piercing through the monitor... he glanced at his commander, but she stood still, hands behind her back, stoically watching. He looked at Kilian...

"_Were they Kilian's troops, Ajay?_" Kane demanded.

A moment passed as Ajay swallowed, realizing that her _life was in his hands_, and it wasn't in a simple case of he had to do his job... his personal choices, a choice completely personal, no practical military matters involved, just what he felt, what he chose... Kane had just given him someone's life to condemn or save (if Kane let it go so easily) in a way he never thought he was supposed to have...

"Go ahead, Ajay," Kilian said, "Condemn me." She put ice into her tone, "_This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_"

The ironic echo echoed through Ajay's head... _This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_... the words seemed to make sense when he had said them... but now that they were said at him... _Come on,_ he thought to himself, _She..._ he couldn't think of an excuse to justify putting Kilian down; there were no proper identifiers for them being her forces save one voice transmission from a random renegade soldier... Everyone was gazing at him, _important figures of Nod_, some of the Brotherhood's **top brass**.

"I don't know!" Ajay finally said loudly, cracking, "I can't say for sure _what_ Kilian's been up to, it's so _**damn**_ confusing!"

"Alright," Kane said soothingly, raising his hands.

"_**I just want what's best for Nod!"**_ Ajay shouted, his voice dry as the weight of what his words could do crashed onto him, slamming his hands into his desk, jerking the transmission.

"Do it." Kane said, gesturing to the short, squat Confessor next to him. The Confessor drew his pistol, pointing it at Kilian's heart...

A silenced pop and a flash, and Kilian gave a little "Uh!", choking, collapsing onto the central console, staring at him... her blue eyes, indistinct and red in the dim lighting of the Nod base staring at him... staring _through_ him... a condemned life, someone _he_ condemned because he simply let his temper get the better of him and let his dislikes for her personally... Kilian gave one last yelp as she hit the floor...

"Congratulations, Ajay." Kane said, the words, which otherwise would have comforted him, only seemed to sicken him now... he looked down, closing his eyes, seeing Kilian's face... _This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_... "Your faith has been tested... and you have _passed._" The link cut off, and Ajay was left to his thoughts...

_This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?..._

_No... it wasn't... _he tried to remind himself it was for the best of the Brotherhood... but somehow, the fact that he said it made it sound hollow, worthless, a blatant lie to him...

XXX

Kane gestured to the Insurgent, who flicked a switch on the console and Ajay's image left. _A pity,_ Kane decided, _She had so much to offer the Brotherhood. Alas that she chose to betray me for thin blood._ He turned to the Insurgent, "As I predicted, Commander, a spot in my Inner Circle has recently opened up." He waited a second, watching the Insurgent's face take a tilt, looking at him quizzically, as if questioning how he knew Kilian had betrayed him; "Congratulations, you're my second in command... leave us." He gestured to the others, who left, leaving him alone with the Insurgent and new Inner Circle Member. He walked over, taking a glance at Kilian's corpse...

"For the record, I had no intention of winning the war against GDI... a fact Kilian simply could not comprehend."

"What?" The Insurgent said, surprised, unable to contain herself. Kane let her recover from the shock, and while she did that, he pushed a dead agent off of his desk and picked up a folder,

"GDI has always seen the Tacitus as a warning against the Visitors, I saw it as an opportunity, to invite a 'superior' race to Earth." He let the sarcasm drip into 'superior', as he knew they were hardly superior to humans. _We haven't even encountered a true member of their species, just mindless drones..._ Kane mused, "They are a race with _great_ knowledge of Tiberium. Now, according to the Tacitus, a Liquid Tiberium explosion would alert the Visitors' scout ships; either naturally occurring, through the World Altering Missile and it's terraforming of the planet to a Tiberium paradise and eventually occurring at Ground Zero, or with a bomb created... but all my experiments with Liquid-T failed to produce a necessary blast yield; not even the 'disaster' which made Australia what it is today thirteen years ago was big enough..." he activated the console, and pulled up the video of the GDI Ion Cannon Strike.

"That, is why I started the war with GDI, to provoke their Ion Cannon retaliation." He paused the image as the explosive cloud moved away from the blast site, and had it analyze, "the force my science ministers considered powerful enough to detonate Liquid-T." Kane sat down, "Of course, the other reason for fighting GDI was to thin their well trained forces, so the Visitors, underequipped for fighting GDI, can complete their mission." He typed into the console, and activated an image in a Red Zone, showing a giant, purple triple tower almost growing out of the landscape with Ion Storms surrounding it, it was one in the Mediterranean. "Now, nineteen of these towers are being built on Earth. Each of them will soon be a gateway, an interstellar passage to worlds beyond... unfortunately, the towers are coded, and the only way inside is with the code. The Visitors keep them within their primary Relay Node and in secondary hubs; you must capture one of those hubs, for the Relay Node is too well defended. It is the key to Ascension... and beyond."

XXXXX

**(Former) Scrin Armor Base**

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Sarah heard Rex's order to fall back in face of the Eradicator Hexapod… and she knew it was a good call, the thing had just knocked out a GDI tank brigade with Shatterer support single-handedly, but this thing wasn't going to go down to conventional weapons, EVA made that clear. Ahsoka was trying to deflect the discs back at it, to cover the retreat, but she couldn't cover so much area… it was becoming a fast slaughter. She looked at the Hexapod, which was quickly outdoing the stories her father had told her of CABAL's Core Defender, and she knew what she had to do if anyone was going to escape alive, especially with surviving aliens backing it up, _somebody_ had to knock out that shield generator. And then she realized that she and the other Zone Troopers was in a position to do it, she was on the sides of the battle, just landed back onto a cliff side near what was left of the alien Armor base, and she had jump jets...

_Father… I'm sorry… but I have to._ "Follow me and cover me as far as you can, and break off as you can't, not taking you with me," Sarah said, then dashed to the side and towards the cliffs.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" Park shouted as Sarah ran, "We have to fall..."

She jump jetted up onto the cliff and rushed out of the Hexapod's sight, fighting through a squad of still-living Disintegrators, blasting them apart with a single grenade. The other Zone Troopers followed her, supporting the advance as they blasted through squads of Disintegrators; then pulled off as a Gun Walker moved in to blast them, ignoring Sarah as it had already been shot at. She kept going, dodging the barrages from barely intact Photon cannons which couldn't aim for their existence, knowing exactly what she was going to do… and what was likely to happen after. _Swore an oath to protect the innocent, and that's what I'm going to do..._

As the Hexapod marched down on the retreating GDI forces, she saw what EVA was talking about: A small generator glowing blue with Blue Tiberium. A shard launcher on the leg spotted her and volleyed at her. Rolling right to dodge it, she then sprinted forward, then jump jetted over the hill down to the crater flying over the sheering drop, over the lines of plasma discs, and landed on the Hexapod.

Several Shock Troopers came out of an organic hatch on the Hexapod's back, screaming their alien language, and opened fire. Sarah dodged out of the way, but one disc hit her leg, and she felt pain shoot straight up. _One way trip then,_ she decided, before blowing them off with her grenade launcher and reloading. Limp and down to one leg, she pulled to the shield generator… and found that there was a second shield protecting it. The only way to destroy it… was to put a weapon inside the shield, and fire point blank. She leaned on it as she pushed herself up, the shield keeping her from touching it directly. Standing on her still-good leg, she readied herself.

She aimed her sonic grenade launcher at the shield generator, pressing the launcher directly to it, and readied herself for what was likely to follow. _Here goes..._ she thought as she pulled the trigger. A sonic explosion blew her into the air. She felt weightless as she flew into the air, back into the crater, and she landed on her back fifty meters away and in the Hexapod's path, falling easily three stories. The wind was knocked right out of her and she felt sickening crunches within her own body as she landed on her back. The Hexapod looked at her, and roared savagely as its shields fell off, the tentacles on the back brought one of the dead Shock Troopers into a maw concealed under them… and a small amount of Tiberium liquid flowed into a small chamber mounted on the side as it _devoured_ the Shock Trooper like a midday snack. It growled as it looked at her, and began to move towards her with jaws open, one of its legs smashing the wreckage of a Mammoth Tank like it wasn't even worth the effort to crush it. None of its weapons fired at her, instead bombarding GDI; and, even dazed, she knew what it was going to do to her.

_Go ahead then, alien, I'm taking you with me._ She thought, gasping for breath as her helmet, the seals broken, fell off of her head and rolled deeper into the crater, _do it, I'm not afraid._ She felt something warm… no, hot, begin to trickle down along her cheeks… pain shot through her body as her bones felt like they all fractured, blinding her in the pain, drowning out almost everything for seconds...

She regained her sight as the Hexapod advanced, she then heard the distinct sound of Firehawks streaking in, and sure enough, a wing of Firehawks flew in, Shield Trio formations, and bombed the Hexapod. Over two dozen Firehawks total, but the tough thing took the hits in stride... at first. The Hexapod screamed as it's armor plates for a carapace blew apart, and large craters began to mark it and the blood that seemed to come out of all damaged Scrin vehicles began to leak out of the craters, like veins were ruptured. It spilled a Tiberium sludge as it stumbled towards her, rage incarnate. It spat plasma into the air, blasting a trio of Firehawks apart and sending them flying down to Earth in heaps of flaming, screaming, twisting, melting metal, crashing on a GDI infantry squad and instantly killing all involved in that crash. Sarah heard shouts from her wrist EVA unit, but she could not make them out; she did not need to, she knew what GDI would do next.

The Hexapod was almost to her, maw open. It's head lowered, she could feel the hot breath of the Hexapod as she felt a tentacle, possibly two hundred meters or more long touched her leg... when suddenly, a massive slug came rushing down from space, slamming into the Hexapod, obliterating its torso. It screamed horrifically as it collapsed to the ground… the head landed mere meters away from her, Tiberium shards flying in all directions, many impaling themselves into her suit, and she felt several, many, ruptures in her skin as Tiberium pieced through. Pain began to wrack her body as she tried to breathe again and she began to hyperventilate, her breathing fast and irregular. She could barely make out the Hexapod's head, which had dug itself deep into the crater, staring it's two giant bug-eyes at her, as if a final rage... _You and me both,_ Sarah thought, _both casualties of war..._ she wondered between bursts of pain if it had any feelings, if it wasn't wondering the same about her. But she forgot quickly as her body exploded in pain yet again.

GDI forces then began to counter attack, engaging a squad of Tripods that came after the Hexapod, Predators swarming the Tripods followed up by GDI's heavier armor, causing the Tripods to become confused and unable to pick targets properly until it was too late and the Mammoths rolled up to blast them. With Shatterers obliterating infantry platoons easily and the Predators maneuvering effectively around the alien tanks and surviving defenses, the Scrin were pushed back as their remaining hover tanks were destroyed by GDI's assault, even as GDI tanks kept exploding, infantry dying as they engaged the Scrin up close and personal; she could hear Rex shouting as he fired his modified pistols, "Down down down TAKE 'EM DOWN!"

As the GDI infantry rushed forward, joined by the Mammoth tanks, Rex skidded to a halt, right next to her… he stared at her… and shouted, "Get a medic, NOW! The Lieutenant's alive! _Need a medic at my location! NOW!_"

"Rex…" Sarah whispered weakly, looking up at his helmet, covered in alien gore and sludge-like Tiberium blood caking onto the helmet in the dying sunlight as night fell, the silver emblemized symbol of the Steel Talons still glinting as lights from Titan battle walkers shone on them in passing, like courage defying the horrors of war, "I wanted to tell you…"

Before she could finish however, she lost consciousness, her head lolling back and hitting the ground, her mouth hanging open as her eyes shut mentally, but physically were only half shut...

It was surprisingly blissful for her.

XXXX

As the Hexapod collapsed, Sergeant McCarthy joined the charge to end the battle, Ahsoka right next to him, lightsaber in hand. They leapt over the wreckage left by the Hexapod; the few remaining Scrin Tripods falling fast at the hands of GDI, and the base fully destroyed as GDI exterminated the aliens, soldiers, crewmen, anything, with extreme prejudice and no mercy, no reason would stop GDI's full and utter destruction of the aliens. It was _payback_ for what the Scrin had done to the innocent. McCarthy saw an injured Scrin engineer, one of their Assimilators... it seemed to be crying, and the look on Ahsoka's face next to him as the GDI soldiers finished off told him all he needed to know: They won, and the survivors were weeping for forgiveness or some other horseshit. He walked up, looked at the alien, and put his boot heel on the Assimilator, putting pressure, feeling it's carapace crack under the pressure, and finally it cracked all the way, giving way to what he assumed was its brains, which he ruthlessly crushed out of existence with his boot heel; then to really be cruel to the bastard, he shot it repeatedly, emptying two clips into the thing's insides, obliterating the alien's biology inside out.

"_**Go back to Mars, or wherever the hell you came from!"**_ McCarthy finally shouted, despite the sad look coming from Ahsoka; he felt vindicated. He watched as the last few surviving aliens, helpless against GDI, were mercilessly killed, often pounded on by soldiers enraged by all the losses to humanity _abused_ the Scrin, using them as play toys. _So what if they're down? It's not like the Geneva convention applies to these fuckers._ And it didn't, and since the aliens didn't acknowledge it for GDI, and their brutal abuse of civilians, he had no qualms what so ever at using every weapon in the book to kill these things... he wished GDI let them use flamethrowers, he wanted to burn those bugs...

"Let it go," Ahsoka said softly as he emptied another clip into the dead alien, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Let it go?" McCarthy asked back, staring at her, flipping his visor up so the incredolous look on his face was clear, "You _saw_ what they did, and you want me to let it go?"

"You made your point, don't give into your anger, it's not worth it. Save it for when you save a life with it, not..." she sighed, and turned away. McCarthy paused, considering... he still had a few bullets left... he glanced at another Scrin, a Disintegrator, somehow still alive... he shot it, emptying the clip, reloaded, and flipped the safety on.

XXXX

Ahsoka walked amongst the wreckage of the base; most of the area was covered in dead alien body parts; she doubted that even with all the Jedi in the Galaxy, all the Clone Troopers, could the aliens be reassembled and their true numbers discerned. She looked around; one GDI soldier, dead, being carried away by two soldiers assigned to cleanup, her helmet melted off and her face half burnt, with the remaining eye staring out of a partially closed eyelid... another GDI soldier looked like a horror out of a horror drama, centimeter holes everywhere in his body, always going all the way though... and it was bloody; she saw GDI tank crewmen, dead on the wreckage of their tank, sprawled out, half their limbs missing, legs, a head, a torso and arms... she even saw one head and it's connecting shoulder blades hanging from what was the Predator's top hatch... and the bottom was a burnt mess of gore. She shivered, wondering what those soldiers went through... she wasn't the only one who noticed.

The Scrin may have been wiped out to the last in Berne and Northern Europe… but as the other GDI soldiers looked around, they realized how much they had lost in doing so.

Most of the city was destroyed, the massive crater looked excavated… and the few remaining buildings were demolished. Militarily… the victory for humanity was great.

But the city was gone… besides some Blue Tiberium which the aliens seemed to off been excavating from the crater, there was nothing left worth fighting for, and even then, the only reason was strategic denial of a rich resource, a comparatively weak reason. Ahsoka could feel the vacancy as she stumbled towards some of the still standing, now depilated buildings, sporting holes from shrapnel and shot down fighters, both GDI Orcas and Firehawks as well as Scrin Stormriders; she even spotted an apartment building that had a crashed Devastator Warship crushing into the top... and the apartment fully collapsed at that point as the weight proved too much for the reinforced steel frames to handle. Averting her eyes as the dust cloud billowed past her, covering her in a thin layer of dirt, she looked at the ruins and sighed; even if it was a military victory, for her, it felt pyrrhic.

Ahsoka looked through one of the buildings still stable, looking around for survivors. She stepped on something soft that made a squeak. She bent down, and picked it up. It was a teddy bear… torn and covered in dust… she glanced around… it looked like whoever lived there had left in a hurry… and probably were never going to come back.

_Hard to imagine having to flee something like this as a kid…_ she thought, trying to picture herself in that situation as she saw skeletal remains, charred and burnt... and nearby was a mangled Disintegrator. A chill shot up her spine when she realized the skeletal remains were only _part_ of the corpse; she used the Force to lift up the rubble obscuring the rest of the corpse... she was horrified, seeing that the man's stomach was disintegrated, but the rest of the man's body was relatively intact save cuts and bruises from the falling rubble... she felt another chill run up her spine as she realized the man probably lived long enough to feel the full suffering of his death... _because he was defending his family? How... how is that right? Who could be so..._ even with years of experience in warfare, she couldn't prepare herself to see the sight of the dead, especially the innocent, living their lives as normal, peaceful people...

"Lieutenant," one of the soldiers walked in, "Commander Rex is asking for all officers to meet him at the Command Post."

Ahsoka nodded, "Tell him I'll be there soon."

She took one last look, wondering where the people, the mother, the child, who used to live there were now, save for the poor husband... _Probably in one of those refugee camps we passed…_ she thought, feeling her stomach **churn**.

XXXX

General McNeil, looking overhead from his Ox transport gasped when he saw the battlefield; he did not even have to think hard to imagine the warfare necessary for a city to produce that much of a crater in the center... he looked to the remains of the Hexapod... it was far larger than it should have been, even if it scaled properly to the hologram... _God, what did they fight? Did they fight a simple ultra-heavy unit, or was it something more?_

"Sir, I have clearance to land and I've reestablished communications with the Commander's EVA unit."

"Bring us in," McNeil said, "Bring us in, and get me the Commander."

XXXX

**Twenty Minutes Later**

As she went into the Command Post, Ahsoka realized how badly GDI had been hit… the Armory complex was beyond full stretch, medics rushing out and around to try and save the lives of every GDI soldier they could… even then, it looked like a hopeless effort to save all the injured. She shivered as she saw some of the soldiers; missing limbs, one looked like he was sawed in half and was only holding together by sheer spite... she turned her head away in revulsion at the sickening wounds, and entered the Command Post, finding her way to the briefing room.

As she entered the room, she noticed that two chairs were still empty, one obviously was for her. _Sarah must be late._ Ahsoka decided… then she saw Rex's face… _Something's wrong… oh no…_

A soldier walked in, looking grave. "Commander… you… wanted to know how the Lieutenant was doing…"

"Yes," Rex said, his voice dry, he leaned forward, as if wanting to news as quickly as possible, "How is she?"

"She's alive… but the medics are having difficulty stabilizing her… her pulse is fluctuating, and they think there's minor Tiberium poisoning. She may or may not live out the night… they say they don't even dare take her armor off… they think the Power Pack medical systems are all that's kept her alive… they're doing some treatments for her, but for the most part, they're were limited in what they could do by her armor."

Rex nodded gravely, slightly relieved, "Let me know the moment you have news… good, or bad."

The soldier nodded, and left.

McCarthy was at the door, his leg in a cast. _Rex must of asked him to come in… he's earned promotion several times with what I've seen…_

Stevenson, the Construction Yard operator, was also there, probably because reconstruction was going to be a big issue considering the city had been _blasted into a crater_.

Fullerton, chest bandaged heavily, was also sitting there, helmet on the table. He still looked like he could take on a small army single handedly through sheer-cussed willpower alone.

General McNeil was also sitting, looking grave. He had arrived a few minutes ago, but rumor had it that his forces had been nearly destroyed in Australia; he looked like a man who just been betrayed.

Finally, Ahsoka sat down in one of the junior officer seats.

"Ladies… Gentleman." Rex finally said, "We've done our duty as far as the GDI mandate is concerned… we've repelled the invaders and secured areas where civilians live or lived, and can prevent further assaults. Once we recover from our losses, we can pursue and destroy the invaders once and for all."

This drew several nods from the various officers.

"What I didn't tell you… or you haven't heard, is that Director Boyle is ordering all GDI forces to stand down in all pursuit out of GDI controlled zones, to prevent the aliens from regrouping."

"Bullshit!" shouted Fullerton, "If we don't kick them off the planet entirely, they'll come in with enough force to roll over us!"

"Exactly." Rex said, "Also, he's calling our activation of the _Guardian Angel_ Protocol to be out of line. The Generals have boycotted the GDI council in favor of keeping the army running and ending the threat once and for all, telling them to stick their politics, ah, what was the term, McNeil?"

McNeil answered, "To shove their politics up their ass."

Fullerton gave a hacking cough mixed with laughter; he always loved seeing the council insulted...

"Regardless," Rex said, "Boyle has ceded the matter, and will ensure we have full GDI support."

McNeil chimed in, "That doesn't mean we're getting new troops from Iceland. Boyle is preparing 'for the worst' there and turned the place into a private fortress, guarded by those who approve of him. So we're walking a razors edge."

Ahsoka nodded. _In other words… if we take too many casualties, Boyle will have the man power to forcibly take control of GDI if needed…_

"For now," Rex said, "We have no orders, and the European theatre can be considered closed until reopened. Spend this time with getting rest and helping us recover from our losses... if possible, take care of any personal business, this may be our last chance before we head out."

The officers besides McNeil left. Ahsoka stayed too.

"Commander," McNeil said… "How do you intend to break it to General Granger if Sarah dies?"

Rex looked at him, as if he didn't want to consider the possibility. "I'll tell him the truth. She died to save us all from that monstrosity, honorable to the end. If it weren't for her… we wouldn't be here now I think."

McNeil nodded. "GDI's medics can do some amazing things Rex, have faith."

Rex nodded. As McNeil left, he stopped…

"By the way Rex… I'm putting her in for a Medal of Honor… Posthumously, if needed. She went above and beyond the call with what she did; I saw the whole thing via satellite link-up. She really embodied some of GDI's most important values there, putting herself between the innocent and terror."

Rex only nodded, and swallowed, throat dry.

McNeil left, and then Ahsoka looked at Rex. Finally, she asked, "You love her, don't you?"

Rex glanced up, and a very brief nod followed. Ahsoka sighed, then said, "I need to help with finding survivors."

Rex nodded, putting a hand on his head as she left, sitting alone in the room. _I hope everything works out for him;_ Ahsoka thought, _and Sarah..._ If Sarah woke up, Ahsoka knew that she was going to be thanking her however she could for knocking out that Hexapod's shielding; if she didn't... _I probably wouldn't be here now..._

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

**Revised Author's Notes: I wanted to up the seriousness of this battle, so I went into more detail, and I tried to disturb **_**myself**_** with some of those descriptions... if you think about the weapons you use on the grunts in C&C, you really can't help but wonder what they're thinking when they're getting shot with it... or in the case of Purifying Flame weapons; not even thinking... yeah, liquefied human... pleasant dreams!**

**I'm also going to put in some details I left out last time, little Nods, etc, set up some irony, and make some things make more sense.**

**I chose to tell Kilian's execution from Ajay's point of view because; really, that was an interesting one to explore, considering it causes his (spoilers of C&C 3) **defection **later on.**

**Seekers/Gun Walkers/Harvesters/Corruptors are basically biomechanical beings, while other units like the Stormrider or Devastator are driven by an Assimilator. How else do you justify the cockpits in those Devourer Tanks?**

**I've been also putting Predators more and more back in besides... OK, still background roles, but I realized I pretty much circumvented the Predator for the Titan except for a few mentions, so I'm writing it back in as a jack-of-all trades tank with a bit of a lean towards armor and firepower, but still has the speed to swarm a target with numbers and get around and in between. What can I say, during the original write-through I was too Steel Talon biased, I have a new appreciation for the Predator after playing some skirmish rounds with them. APC's and Pitbulls are harder to write in though, so don't expect much beyond transporting infantry units or scout duty. Sorry; but I can't write every unit in, which kind of disappoints me.**

**Another thing I'm trying to do is make the fights a bit more realistic in the sense of they aren't one side consistently pushing without loss, but rather stalemates with pushing going on, as when I did the original write, it was a lot of GDI just pushing forward bluntly and blasting through. And while doing this, I'm aiming for more realistic tactics as well instead of frontal slug-out when it can be avoided, mostly with the infantry using cover, etc. With tanks in an open field... well, there really isn't much you can do in an open field with Mammoth Tanks besides frontally assault the enemy.**

**I also upped the Hexapod to beyond Core Defender levels... to compare, if the Hexapod faced the Core Defender from C&C Firestorm... I think the Hexapod would of won. Don't think it'd be able to swim though... so that's a tie. So it's not a normal Hexapod, it's just an ungodly-powerful version that, as hinted above in the pre-chapter quotes, has no extra plans, no other prototypes even being **_**considered**_**, and dang well no back up... well, maybe not for a dozen plus years. Heh. I just wanted to have something really go friggen nuts on GDI and go scenery porn on it in a way that makes sense since the actual Hexapods in-game are actually kind of weak against what they got shot with... so I make an excuse of an uber-Hexapod to replace the role of the Scrin Mothership in the mission; just had more of a 'holy shit' feel to me if you had a thing the size of a few football fields coming at you.**


	14. Chapter 14: The Stage is Set

_These humans are too resourceful, Overseer! They've destroyed our only prototype of the Hexapod Mark II! We must focus all forces on Threshold completion so we can deploy all forces and eradicate them before this operation is destroyed!_

- Scrin Foreman 007 to the Scrin Overseer

_I knew there was a 'chance' the Visitors might not be entirely... cooperative. That's why I ordered my Scientists to design a weapon that targets their weakness; this will allow you to claim one of their Towers, but you must act fast! The Visitors are attacking the facility even as we speak. Reclaim the facility... then feel free to test out the new addition to your arsenal._

- Kane to the Legendary Insurgent, briefing her on the Catalyst Missile.

**Chapter 14: The Stage is Set…**

**GDI Base**

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka walked down into the crater. Most GDI Search-and-Rescue units were already finished with their duties by this point, either bringing survivors to get help… or bringing the dead for burial. The remains of the battle were scattered around… destroyed tanks of both sides, and the dead Scrin still lay where they were slain. Even if some of the Scrin survived, Ahsoka was confident she could easily defend herself.

She reached the bottom of the crater, where a massive amount of Blue Tiberium was. Ahsoka walked through it easily, Tiberium exposure having no affect on her. Finally, she reached the remains of the Eradicator Hexapod. She walked towards what was left of it… and expanded her awareness. She felt the remains of the Eradicator Hexapod's limited intelligence fading away, as the energy that power the monstrosity dissipated. Taking a glance around, and confident no one was tailing her, she continued on.

Finally, she found a small, hidden area; out of the way... she entered the small, natural alcove, pulling some scrap metal in front, concealing her. She sat down, sighing. _What's happening to me?_ She wondered. _There's no way I can redirect lightning… especially lightning from an Ion Storm… that just doesn't happen…_

She closed her eyes, her breathing becoming steady and measured… she entered a trance and felt herself floating away.

"_Premonitions. Telling you something. Always in motion, is the future, and _many_ possible futures, there are."_

Words from another Galaxy… Ahsoka remembered them well. It was when she was at the Jedi Temple, with Yoda, discussing the first few visions she had as a Padawan, during the Clone Wars. She exhaled...

A blurry image faded into view… General Mitchell's downed Titan walker about to be crushed by an Annihilator Tripod, with the General himself barely making it out of the walker before the Tripod crushes it like the proverbial soda can he usually referred to.

In China, see could make out General Renteria fighting off both Nod and Reaper-17's forces, all of them fighting to secure something valuable. Nod began to fall back in a disorganized rabble, as if a keystone had been pulled, and ZOCOM reinforcements arrived…

Then her thoughts drifted to the past… she could see many of the battles she had fought in, alongside Rex, and her master, Anakin Skywalker, before being taken to Earth via Chronosphere… she recalled some of them... she saw a crystalline city, Rex's Clone Troopers using Jet Packs to slow a descent and hitting a Separatist walker with repeated anti-tank rounds... shortly before she had met him, in fact... Ryloth, where she had fouled up horribly when Anakin finally gave her a chance to prove herself as a leader; when she was far too young to even be in the war by sane standards...

Towards the future, her thoughts drifted towards Rex… she could see something, but couldn't quite make it out… it was like clouds rushing past to obscure what she was seeing… but a single voice came out clear… a voice she couldn't quite pin down… it seemed to be encouraging, as if something good was about to happen, a feeling of joy penetrating the landscape.

"_You're doing OK… easy… now… push…"_

However, this sensation of joy faded away as something much darker pieced through… war, smoke… doom… and the hauntingly familiar sound of never-ceasing, mechanically precise, marching, reminding her darkly of the Separatist's Droid Armies, which never ceased marching unless ordered otherwise, and were so precise that it was enough to drive one mad, even after hearing it battle after battle... yet the steps were far heavier than normal battle droids... even heavier than super battle droids...

"_An army of the Deathless, the Enlightened, the Redeemed..."_ she couldn't pin down the voice, but it sounded familiar, like she should recognize it...

Then the clouds obscuring her vision began to accelerate as she heard shouts… and they suddenly stopped… and she lost her sense of feel, hearing... and all was black to her.

XXXX

**Undisclosed Location (Nod Datacore Bunker)**

**Undisclosed Zone**

Kane nodded as the report came in, the Tacitus was in LEGION's grasp and ZOCOM's General Renteria was busy fighting off the Visitors, "Very good." he said to the two Inner Circle members, truly loyal members of the Brotherhood who had been with it since before the Second Tiberium War, and were loyal even after Kane's death, having served Anton Slavik and later, LEGION during the Rio Insurrection. "The plan proceeds apace and soon we will have our tower, our code, and our guide." He smiled, turning towards LEGION, looking at the large screen that had his face, for lack of better term. It was a simple, generic human face, tinged red, reminding Kane faintly of CABAL's final form before GDI destroyed his core. One of the Inner Circle then mentioned the Legendary Insurgent's activity in Italy, recovering Nod's new Catalyst Missile for usage against the Visitors if necessary during her operations... Alexa walked in with a powerful stride, and Kane thought she had news... but something unnerved him...

"I cannot let you connect with the Tacitus!" Alexa shouted suddenly, causing Kane to turn, a room away, and look; she jammed something into LEGION's console, "I will not let you usher in an _age of machines, I will __**not**__ be your slave,__** I will not...**_"

"NOOOOOO!" Kane shouted, sprinting and throwing her off, "What have you done!" _No, no, NO!_ Kane thought frantically as he saw his whole plan unravel; the Visitors defeating GDI, without Nod being powerful enough to swing the tide if needed... the Visitors swarming over and reducing all life to ash... his whole plan, _**thousands**_ of years of work destroyed by one woman... LEGION's screen read "**Virus Detected"**...

"It was turning against you!" Alexa hysterically shouted, being held by the two Inner Circle members, hands behind her back, holding her as she struggled.

"You _doubt_ me?" Kane asked, incredulous, looking at LEGION's console, **"System Purge Initiated"** it read...

"Kilian did." Alexa responded, calmly.

"Yes, and now she is dead," Kane said, looking at her directly, suddenly, Alexa threw off her captors and said;

"Only because _I_ ordered the attack on Sarajevo!"

Kane looked at her; shock rushed through him, leaving him _**stunned**_; _**Alexa **__ordered the attack on Temple Prime?_ Kane thought, disbelieving, _No... she couldn't have; that makes absolutely no sense... she was loyal, she was knowledgeable, why would she do such a thing!_ Horror wheeled in as he realized that if that story got out to certain members of Nod... and many of its fickler supporters... or worse, _GDI_. "Kilian gave that order..." Kane said, still disbelieving, his voice uncharacteristically soft and feeble as he tried to understand why Alexa betrayed him...

"No, that was _mine_." Alexa answered, staring at him, "I ordered LEGION to assume the guise of General Qatar and attack Temple Prime."

Kane still couldn't understand, _she betrayed him?_ She made _LEGION_ betray him unintentionally? "Why?" he asked, desperate for the answer he could not fathom with all his experience.

"Because _you couldn't see how __**dangerous**__ she was!"_ Alexa shouted, distraught, clearly verging on insanity, "She would have betrayed you in time!"

Kane put his face right up to hers, and said with a deathly soft tone with the faintest hint of a hiss, "I ordered her _execution_..." He knew what he had to do now to her; "Take her away," he said to Inner Circle, unable to conceal the shock in his voice, "Interrogate her. Do _not be __**gentle**_." He turned to the console, trying to figure out how to save LEGION before Alexa's virus crippled it; the readout said: **"System Failure"** and a long series of error codes were flashing up repeatedly..._No, no, NO!_ Kane thought, distraught. Suddenly, he heard two squeals of pain and the accompanying thumps; the two Inner Circle had been hit in the groin, and staggered back; Alexa had a pistol in her hand taken from one of them, and she pointed it directly at his head.

He took a step back, holding his arms out as the other Inner Circle member still with a gun recovered and moved to shoot; but held as he saw Kane holding his hand out...

"Peace..." Alexa said coldly, in a tone that _unnerved_ Kane.

"Though..." LEGION's console rapidly beeped in alarm...

"_**Power!**_" Alexa shouted, before turning the pistol to her own heart and pulling the trigger, collapsing onto the console; instantly dead, the laser round phasing through her body and overheating her heart inside out. Kane stood there, shocked as he finally understood: She _betrayed_ him out of _loyalty_... _That is..._ he still couldn't believe it...

"Sir..." said one of the two Inner Circle members, "Is it... true?"

Kane paused... "Yes. She told the truth." There was no point in hiding it from those two; they were there, fortunately, the others in the datacore did not know, so they would not have to be taken care of... and he could trust the two members of the Inner Circle; they knew more about his history then any of the others in the Inner Circle; even Kilian didn't know many of the things told when she _was_ alive...

"Leave us," Kane said, "leave the body, for now. Do not breathe a _word_ of this to anyone without my agreement, or I will _kill you_."

The two nodded and left, understanding. Kane screamed, a savage scream as he realized that after all the effort, over _thousands_ of years of hard work... and now it was undone by a single human _bitch_. He still couldn't understand how someone could betray somebody trying to be _loyal_ to them... _She compromised so much..._ LEGION was disabled, gone... he felt hollow; realizing that LEGION was more than a mere neural network indeed... in a weird sense of the word... he almost thought that LEGION was like a son to him... he mused on that, briefly, before sighing, opening the console...

He then noticed something; despite the damage wrought, LEGION was not beyond repair, and once he removed the virus data, an easy task, LEGION's self-repair module should work... though he knew he'd have to spend a considerable amount of time repairing it; time he did not have now as the Towers neared completion... and with the first phase of the Marked now unable to be woken without LEGION...

He realized that what he had taken for a whole different purpose would now be the keystone of his plan; if he failed, then his plan would fail... and the Insurgent; it would be up to her to defend a Tower until the Visitors completed it...

XXXX

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Rex glanced at his monitor, and frowned. Ahsoka hadn't reported back to base… all reports said she had left the base alone… and never came back.

"I got a satellite feed of her walking past the Eradicator, but that was six hours ago." McNeil said, looking at his own console. "They thought nothing of it, apparently thinking you sent her to get something or check for survivors, and turned SkySentry towards the fight in China."

"The Eradicator is on the other side of this karked kilometer wide crater…" Rex muttered, "what the heck was she doing, heading out alone…"

"You ask me," McNeil said, "I think she went for some quiet."

"Maybe…" Rex said, "But you can get that in a rifle closet."

"Not if there're soldiers on night patrol who are checking in and out." McNeil pointed out. "The Scrin base had a bunch of craters and blasted out alcoves, maybe a more physical search would work?"

Rex nodded, grabbing his helmet. " Good point. I'll head out in a Pitbull, keep me on radar."

McNeil nodded, turning back to his console. Rex checked his pistols' ammo and went outside. The base was much quieter now that most of the wounded had been tended to by the medics, and likely sleeping. Near the makeshift motor pool, Rex talked to the officer in charge, a Corporal, and hopped into a Pitbull once it was cleared and tagged. Rex began to drive down the crater, the scope of the damage much more clear to him now.

_To think… a fight like this would of won or lost planets back in the Grand Army…_ He skidded as he nearly slammed into the wreckage of a Mammoth tank.

"Careful Rex," McNeil cautioned, "That looked like a close shave."

"No kidding, General." Rex responded. As he passed the Eradicator, amazed at how stanging _**huge**_ the thing was... he activated the Pitbull's advanced scanners. No life forms in range. _OK… she's not near the Eradicator… though she was here…_

Rex began to drive up the ramp to the remains of the Scrin base, alert for any survivors. A few minor beeps came out, but nothing solid enough to register as sentient yet.

Rex made one last pass, coming close to one of the cliff walls. The Pitbull beeped, and Rex glanced at the monitor.

"General, I got a life sign. Looks to be dormant, five creds say sleeping."

"That'd be her," McNeil said, "The docs just told me that she may of fallen asleep from some Keep-Up they gave her. You know how that stuff crashes once it wears off."

"All too well." Rex said, remembering when he fell asleep after a battle during debriefing because he had been forced to take the older, more primitive raw caffeine shots to keep awake long enough to fight. He got plenty of jokes and a hard time about it afterwards, but fortunately it was mostly forgotten at that point. Rex turned the Pitbull towards the life sign, and spotted nothing… but he noticed plenty of scrap metal.

"I'm getting out of the Pitbull, think she might of moved some scrap to cover her." Rex said as he opened the door, and locked the ATV.

"Got it Rex. Still got you on radar… I might lose connection; Stevenson says he needs to restart the generators."

"Understood, I'll contact you ASAP."

After twenty minutes of searching through the rubble and scrap, cleared of human bodies, but still leaving Scrin carcass' behind, or what was left of them. He lifted the scrap, and smiled as he finally found Ahsoka… lying on her side, as if she had slide off to sleep unawares. Rex gave a little sigh as he looked at her, then he gently lifted her and took her into the Pitbull, strapping her into the passenger/gunner's seat. "McNeil, found her." he said into the radio.

Static greeted him, but Rex thought nothing of it, and began to drive back to base. _What were you doing, lil'un?_ Rex wondered... then she began to snore. He shook his head, _To think that in these big wars, small things like this still happen..._

XXXX

**The Next Day, Early Morning**

**GDI Base**

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka woke up, glancing around. She was in an all steel-grey room with a door with something silver on it; she saw Rex to her right, sitting on a small stool and smiling as he noticed her, "Get lost on the way back, lil'un?"

She looked at him strangely for a minute, then started looking at her surroundings in more detail. She recognized it immediately; one of the Officer's rooms in the Construction Yard.

"Heh…" Ahsoka said weakly as she realized what happened. "Sorry."

"No worries," Rex said, "Though next time, leave a note, would you?"

"Sure..." Ahsoka answered slowly... "How long was I out?"

"About ten hours."

"No one worried?"

"No; no one even noticed." Rex answered, pushing himself up, "'saber is on the table," he pointed, and her lightsaber was indeed laying there, "I have to go now. Get some rest while you can and speak to the docs when they're not busy."

Ahsoka nodded, laying her head back down and thinking about what she'd seen...

XXXX

Rex turned away, and left, shutting and locking the door to the six-by-six foot room behind him. Heading down the corridor and passing a few more same-sized rooms, the ConYard's officer quarters, he glanced around; turning towards the exit, he rolled his shoulders to try and ease the tension that had been building up, and once he was outside, walked towards the armory, where the medics had set up their triage.

"Commander," nodded the on-duty officer, "The report will be ready by noon, sir."

"Thank you," Rex glanced at the rank chevrons on the officer quickly, "Corporal. I actually came to see how things were going, I wanted to talk to the injured, try and offer what I can."

The soldier nodded, "The medics are asking that there aren't any visitors barring those they confirmed they can't save."

"I want to talk to some of them in particular, where should I file the request?"

"Ah, write it out on some scrap paper," the corporal said, "We got so many we had to pull several infantry from patrol duty to keep it all in check."

Rex nodded, pulling out a piece of paper, neatly folded, from his belt-bag, and he handed it to the corporal, who nodded, unfolding it and laying it face-down on a tray, then pushed the tray in.

"We'll let you know when there's a good time, sir, for the general visit and the specific one." The corporal saluted. Rex returned it and to the command post.

As he entered, McNeil was standing there.

"Commander, General Granger's calling a debriefing while we're all in the clear."

Rex nodded, and they went in.

Activating the meeting room's omniscreen, Generals Granger, Mitchell, and Renteria were all there, with minor cuts and bruises here and there, but otherwise looking fit.

"The aliens have retreated from China, and Nod made a play for the Tacitus. They have some sort of new Vein Detonator we can't block to blow up any harvesters and nearby bases, which just put our reclamation operations back a few months. They managed to acquire the Tacitus for a short time, but we managed to reclaim it when Nod's command fell apart half way through the battle. Those Reaper-17 aliens also made an attack, but we were able to repel them. The Tacitus is en route to the new location and is safe as far as can be told."

"The Invaders have been kicked out of the West Coast. I took some losses, but I still have the majority of my combat strength." Mitchell explained, "They pulled out part way through the attack, so I think they're getting conservative with what we've been dishing out on them."

"Fort Bradley is intact, and that means we still have a majority of our firepower in the Eastern Seaboard," Granger explained, "New York's been blown apart considerably, but it should recover given time. Still, it's a tragic loss."

"It would of been even greater if Havoc didn't help you," Mitchell added, "I wonder at times what we'd do without him, especially since he seems to knock out entire bases near-single handedly."

"It was spread out," Granger said, "and he only disabled an exposed vehicle deployment area, not a full base. There was a lot more going on than his overconfidence, General Mitchell."

"I know, I know," Mitchell said, "But still..."

"Ahem." Renteria said, "Commander? General McNeil?"

"These Scrin are out of Northern Europe entirely, Generals." Rex said, "I don't have a full tally on casualties, and we… engaged some sort of hexapod super walker…" He paused, as if wondering how he should put it… "And General…" Rex looked at Granger, "You're daughter was critically injured when she made that thing vulnerable to attack so we could stop it."

General Granger took a step back, bracing himself, looking shocked. "Is she…" he stopped, swallowing. "I mean..."

McNeil cut in, "It's alright, she's alive, General; but the medics say that her armor is keeping her alive… but they can't stabilize her properly without removing it."

General Granger nodded slowly, blinking, as if to keep something out of his eyes. Renteria cut in, "I'm sorry to interrupt, General, but W3N is reporting on our successes recently, and he's talking with the doctor you rescued in Munich, Commander... Havoc is there as well." With that, she pressed a button, and W3N came up on the screen.

Sitting in his usual chair, William Frank began his report. "A recent string of GDI victories has forced the Invaders out of our cities… but it seems that invading our cities and conquering our people is _not _their main objective. Instead they seem to be determined to build massive towers; in the Red Zones. Any attempt to impede or even just investigate this activity is met with shocking force. To shed some light on these enemy structures is Dr. Emel Ibrahiim, GDI FutureTech labs. First of all, Dr. Ibrahiim, congratulations on your escape from Munich."

"Thank you William," she responded, "It was… most harrowing."

"I can only imagine… now what can you tell us about these strange Red Zone towers?"

"As with everything concerning Invaders, Tiberium is key. They utilize these green crystals in ways we cannot even imagine. If fuels their craft, their weapons, even their infantry and vehicles are made of some degree of Tiberium, to the point where it's almost safe to say what we encounter are alien drones artificially made using Tiberium composites and Tiberium as a blood. And we also know these towers are made of a Tiberium composite material. What we don't know is the purpose of these towers, only theories."

"Fascinating… what are those theories?"

"Could be… Tiberium Refineries, Missile Silos… even Planetary Destruction systems. We need to get closer, we don't have enough information."

"Not so easy, is it?"

"No."

"Whatever these structures are, I think it's safe to say they were _not_ built for the benefit of mankind. Now, we have former GDI Special Forces Commando Retired-Colonel Nick Seymour "Havoc" Parker with us tonight as well; Havoc, welcome back to DC."

"Thanks William," Havoc said smiling toothily, "It's bloody, but we're kicking alien ass and taking names, so I think it's safe to say GDI will come out on top."

"Pretty bold, but we all hope that's true. So what can you tell us about the aliens, from your experience?"

"They're tough bastards alright," Havoc answered, "But once GDI is rolling, they're weakness' are pretty obvious; most of their units can't take a god-damn hit for their lives and most go down after a couple shots from our weapons of equivalent position. The only reason they won at all during the initial fights was because they caught us with our pants down; again."

"So you're saying the aliens are _weaker_ than GDI?" William said, surprised, "Are we really _that_ technologically advanced?"

"We're tough enough the bastards have to rely on their air fleet to win anything," Havoc said, "And even those are just fodder for our top aces in the air corps."

"So we have the upper hand, according to you?"

"Left handed, even." Havoc said smiling, but Doctor Ibrahiim shook her head.

"We're not that close, Colonel," she said, "But he is right in one thing; the aliens equivalents are almost always weaker than our analogue, except for their air based navy, which they excel, but on the ground where it more often than not counts, GDI has the edge, but even then, we're not invincible against the aliens; it's cost several _million_ lives just to repel them back to the Red Zones."

"So you're saying we have ways to go, but it's looking good?"

Havoc paused, "Long as GDI doesn't discard any of the good old tech it's using now, we're good. If they chose to play penny-pincher, we're in for it."

William nodded, "Folks; it seems that GDI has gained the upper hand, but the question remains if it can drive the aliens away before round two begins."

The footage cut as Mitchell looked pretty stunned at the news.

"What they did not mention due to being classified, was that there's considerable energy fluctuations, which, according to the Tacitus, are caused by Wormholes the aliens use, similar to their portals to bring in troops already, but on a much larger scale. If they are in fact bringing more of those Hexapods, we will be in serious trouble." General Renteria explained.

"Commander, you're the closest to the most completed tower. Take out the one in what's left of Rome, you're the key Rex, if you take it out, the rest should fall like dominos. General McNeil, resupply your forces, see if you can't get some new recruits that are being trained as we speak, then head to Africa, and deal with the towers there." Granger said.

"You deal with North America, General Granger." Mitchell said, "I'll deploy in South America and deal with the towers there."

Renteria nodded, "I'll cover Asia then. Let's mix our arsenals while we have the chance, General Mitchell, you may be Steel Talons, but you'll need sonic weaponry to win. I'm uploading all you need for Harmonic Resonance technology to your EVA unit. As Zone units and Field Suits are under ZOCOM's purview, consider this official permission to outfit all Red Zone forces with them and make them yourselves."

Mitchell nodded, "I'll send you some Behemoths, Rail Guns, and Adaptive Armor for your forces, and you'll want the artillery and fire power."

Silence prevailed for the next few minutes… the last thing that was ever expected to happen, just had: The Steel Talons and ZOCOM were sharing technology… sharing what made them Steel Talons or ZOCOM... and it was almost like an afterthought.

"So…" Granger finally said, "They attacked out cities just to distract us?"

"It seems so." Rex said, "One of the Data links we sampled from the Scrin put civilian targets as a primary objective… to distract military operations. And if that didn't work, start knocking out major military installations."

Granger nodded, "Then we can't let them complete those towers; if that was just a distraction, I do not want to see what a full assault looks like. Good luck, all of you. By the end of the week, Commander, I expect you to have taken one of those towers down."

"That'll give us enough time to adjust our tactics and stop the construction of the other towers," Renteria said, "Our intelligence reports that if you take longer than a week from midnight tonight, the tower will be complete. All the other towers are four days behind as they are farther from Ground Zero, the Tiber River. This one is closest to completion because it is just downstream, or what used to be downstream, of Ground Zero. Choose carefully, Commander."

The three Generals cut their links.

McNeil turned to Rex, "How do you intend to take out one of those towers?"

"The Ion Cannon." Rex said. "Blow it to hell with as many shots of the Ion Cannon as I have to, and leave absolutely nothing intact."

McNeil nodded, "It worked on the Hexapod, but what if the Tower is of similar material to the drop craft that they split into?"

"Then we go for our second plan, getting inside and detonating it the old fashioned way."

McNeil nodded. "We got two days to get the task force ready… I'll need a week for my forces… you'll have to hurry and prepare."

XXXXX

**24 Hours Later…**

If one looked at Sarah Granger, they would probably agree with anyone else who saw her that she was in a sad state. Trapped within her armor, her hair a complete mess, her face covered in a number of small cuts, a long gash across her forehead, covered up by a long white bandage wrapped around her head. Her armor was in no better condition. Dinged, dented, slashed, and holes from large Tiberium shards landing into the armor; it was a damn wonder the Power Pack medical systems GDI Zone Armor often employed was still working. Next to the bed she was lying in, a pulse scanner was set up, the readings coming from two wires placed on her pulse. A breath mask was placed over her mouth and nose, keeping fresh air pumping through and out, keeping her breathing much more regulated.

_My head…_ she thought, her head pounding like the thud of a hundred Mammoth Tanks opening fire all at once. It began to clear steadily… Her eyes remained shut. _I'm dead… I have to be dead…_ she paused in her thoughts for a moment… _I guess my only regret is that I didn't tell Rex how I felt about him…_

Silence prevailed for an indeterminable amount of time… then she heard a steady buzzing… and the occasional beep… then conversation… words she couldn't make out… she then heard a few words, and could comprehend them, but they made little sense to her. At long last… she began to feel movement in her muscles again... She opened her eyes a tad, barely able to see through her brows… she could see blurred shapes, but it was clear to her that she wasn't on the battlefield anymore…

"How is she?" someone asked, clearly wanting the answer quickly… she couldn't quite place the voice…

"I…" she croaked, barely getting the word out as her eyes fell open. She tried to move her head up, but couldn't… she felt like she was pinned in place.

Rex was standing next to her, helmet off, with one of the medics right next to him. Rex leaned in, and asked, "Easy, you'll be fine."

Sarah tried to convey a deadpan look to Rex, who hesitated, then said… "Alright… you aren't fine…"

"How… bad?" Sarah asked weakly, feeling the pain of trying to breathe.

The medic spoke up, "We were able to treat your head wounds, but we don't think we'll be able to risk the wounds on your body without removing your armor… which is all we think is keeping you alive…"

"Why… didn't… do… it… while… unconscious…" she gasped in pain as pain wracked through her body again, her lungs felt like they bled the air she breathed, her heart thudding in overtime as her blood pressure began to rise. "Would… of… been… easier…"

The medic hesitated, shuffling from foot to foot… "We… wanted to get permission, given it's your life at risk and we couldn't find someone with authority for the consent forms…"

"You… were… only..." Sarah dropped her head back onto the medical bed's crappy pillow, amazed at how stupid GDI could be at times. _Why… why didn't they at least risk my life when I might as well of been dead… would of saved us all a lot of trouble if it went lethal._

_I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it._

"What's your choice then, Sarah?" Rex asked.

"Do it."

The medic nodded briefly… "Would you… like to get affairs in order, just in case?"

Sarah looked at Rex…

"Could you leave us a moment?" Rex turned to the medic, who nodded and said, "I'll get the surgeon; he'll be available as soon as he's finished with Lt. Fullerton's wounds."

The medic backed out quickly, and slid the privacy screen on. Most GDI medical bay rooms had them; of course, the rooms were only big enough for surgeons to do their work and the patient to be laid down. The privacy fields were installed during the 2nd Tiberium War, when officers needed to debrief injured soldiers in private.

They simply looked at each other for a time… finally, Sarah broke the silence, feeling confident enough to speak.

"What did I tell you in the crater?" Sarah asked, gesturing lightly, as not to strain her neck, to Rex, beckoning him closer.

"You didn't finish… it was something you wanted me to know," Rex leaned in closer, kneeling next to the bed. She whispered to him, "I love you Rex… I honestly do…"

"So do I… so do I…" Rex responded, just as quietly.

They were silent for a minute, then Sarah continued,

"Rex… if I die during the treatment… tell my father I love him… and… I'm sorry."

"I don't think apologies will be necessary," Rex whispered to her, reassuringly as he could, "I think he was... is prepared for this… he's proud of what you did…"

"Even if he is, tell him." She looked at him, almost desperate, "It's important to me."

Rex nodded, "I'll tell him then." A moment later, he hesitated… as if he was going to ask something else.

A slight smile crossed Sarah's face, "Let me guess... 'kiss for luck'?"

Rex's face twisted as he tried to think of a proper witty retort to cover up the fact that he very well was thinking of that… she chuckled _very _lightly, as not to pressure her lungs. _Ah… he's hopeless as a romantic… I swear he's as experienced as I am in this… and that's no experience at all beyond _Romeo and Juliet_ and all those romantic comedies..._

"Let's wait on this Rex… haste never goes well in these things." Sarah said finally. There was a knock at the door. Rex snapped back and, faster than any man Sarah had seen, leapt up to his feet. The medic opened the door, a doctor and a nurse behind him, the nurse pushing a tray with sterilized equipment covered with a miniature sonic field, keeping it sterile, "I'm sorry Commander, but you're going to have to leave now. You can wait outside, if you want."

Sarah gave Rex a smile, and whispered, "Go, I'll be fine."

As Rex left, she barely spotted Ahsoka, standing right next to the door. _Probably worried about Rex…_ Sarah decided, the door shut, and the doctor pulled on sterilized gloves. "Very well. Lieutenant, be aware that your conditions mean we can't sedate you… this may hurt a little…"

"I understand," Sarah said weakly. The doctor nodded to his two assistants, the medic and the nurse, who turned her armor off remotely and began to strip it off of her, leaving her down to her GDI regulation undergarments. The Doctor pulled out a portable X-ray machine from the mobile tray, and scanned. He nodded as he saw the results, "We'll have to operate for sure. Confirmed Tiberium in her lungs… heavily toned down and diluted Tiberium, but Tiberium none the less. Her windpipe is beginning to decay and heart is also failing due to a tumor blocking the flow of blood. We'll have to reconstruct the windpipe and remove the tumor from her heart, and quickly."

The Nurse nodded, handing the doctor a very familiar looking syringe: The recently standard-issued shot that would immobilize a person perfectly. It left them awake and aware, but it would keep them from fidgeting at the worst time possible, an alternate to sedatives. The shot was injected in, and Sarah felt her body going limp… but she still had full awareness… including the pain from her failing lungs and heart and the touch of the Nurse as assisted in removing all the undergarments in the way. The medic placed a surgical blanket over her, gratefully keeping her from seeing what they were doing and keeping her person covered as appropriate.

_I'm in fate's hands now…_ she thought as she felt the first touch of the surgeon's tools... _God, I'll do anything you ask once this is over… just keep Rex and my farther safe…_

XXXXXXXX

**Nod Field Outpost**

**Kings Canyon, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ajay paused as he held the folder, thinking... _This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_ "Man I keep seeing Kilian's face..." he said to himself, even though the Insurgent was watching through a monitor, "Those eyes of hers... looking right through me." He paused, and sighed, "Sorry. Anyway, back to business." He put a boot on his desk and leaning on his left leg, "I gotta be honest with you commander, we still don't have Intel on these 'Visitors' or 'Invaders' or whatever you wanna call them. But I do know this; the Relay Node and all its associated hubs are where all the damn reinforcements are coming in, capturing one is going to be a suicide mission; check it out." He pressed a button, bringing up Italy on the monitor behind him, focusing on two areas, "The Forgotten are engaging the Scrin here, and the easiest to nail secondary hub is here; the former are giving the aliens a right damn bit of trouble, and they have GDI tech available, older stuff but I'm surprised how they've upgraded the scrap to work... thing is about the hub, the place is so fortified I don't think a _ghost_ could get through those defenses. Not going to lie to you, Commander... this is a real ball buster. GDI won't stand idle for long, so you have to nail those targets before they get down here; I'd suggest starting with the hub, we're still moving more units in and the aliens are busy with other things so they may not notice too quickly, so you should be able to slip in; once our forces are here, clearing out the Forgotten and any GDI units that show up should be easier. Still, it's practically suicide."

"I'll find a way," the Insurgent answered, "Just get me those units, we'll need them."

Ajay nodded, "I'll do what I can."

XXXXXX

"So," Ahsoka asked Rex as they walked down to the rifle range within the armory. "Its official, isn't it?"

"What?" Rex asked, looking at her, confused, "What's official?"

"That you and Sarah love each other? Don't think we haven't noticed the way you've been acting around her Rex, and she even admitted to Park that she thinks you're cute." She gave him a cross look.

Rex sighed, _Damn scuttlebutt, it's more effective then the whole EVA network at spreading information…_ "And what if it is?"

"Well, then Stevenson owes me a hundred credits, Fullerton twenty, and Tex ten." She answered, a feral smile crossing her lips, like a predator that's seen hapless prey… _I've never ceased noticing how many predator-like qualities she has…_ Rex mused.

"Isn't betting on two people falling in love against a _code_ or some such?" Rex asked, wishing he had his helmet as he began to blush… _For all the good it'd do me… damn Jedi can always tell with their senses..._

"Nah, it was either this, or we started pestering you about it." She responded, "If you ask me, I think you two make a cute couple… except for one part…"

They entered the deserted rifle range, save for a single sniper who was in the combat-environment-back round range, which could be set to create sounds mimicking that of real battle, usually loud enough that the only way to get their attention is to shut it off on them… not that Rex or Ahsoka intended to.

Rex looked at Ahsoka, deadpan, "That I'm biologically ten years her senior, when in reality I'm probably about her age?"

"Pretty much."

Rex sighed, "Look, I'm not sure if you found out, but… she still might die."

Ahsoka stopped, surprised. "You sure? She felt like she was on the mend to me…"

"It's a real risk Ahsoka… they had to remove her armor so they could operate and treat her properly."

Ahsoka stood there, surprised. "I… I'm sorry, I…"

"It's alright," Rex said, "Come on; we need to get ready to go by nightfall. GDI Airborne transportation is back online, so we'll be able to get to Rome quickly."

They left the range.

**XXXX**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Havoc stood before General Granger in the Pentagon; they had regrouped there after liberating New York from the Invaders, managing to save the Statue of Liberty (which was heavily damaged and planned on being repaired by the local civilian populace) and more importantly (to him), Fort Bradley, keeping a strong military presence in the area. Washington DC was fortunate to not be attacked as it's civilian population was mostly gone from the Nod attack; though people were moving back towards it as their other refuges were attacked by the Scrin. Granger shook his head, sighing.

"Your daughter?" Havoc asked.

"Yes." Granger said, "She's... not well."

Havoc paused; he'd never been much of a family guy, but Granger always treated him well; and in hindsight, he agreed he needed that punch to the face, he deserved that. "I'm sorry, sir."

Granger's eyebrows raised, surprised somewhat by the sincerity, "Thank you," he finally said, "I should of been prepared for this a long time ago; but you know, when we took on Kane in Cairo, seventeen years ago, I thought I'd seen the worst of war."

Havoc nodded, "Then a year after, you were leading us to a win over that damn AI CABAL. I still have the scars." Indeed he did; CABAL's Core Defender walker had nearly killed him a dozen times; it was all Havoc could do to avoid getting attacked as he moved past, at which point the Defender attacked the mainline GDI force. It wasn't until Granger had called in an Ion Cannon strike followed by Orca bombers that GDI had been able to knock the thing out; and Granger had pulled the trigger, hitting it with a heavy rocket launcher, while Havoc disabled the two CABAL obelisks defending his core as the Defender was busy being dismantled... and destroying about what Rex had lost in Berne... but Havoc dismissed the memories, "Still, we have a job to do, General."

"Yes," Granger said, pulling his desk open and fitting the pistol into its holster, "We'd better get going so we're in position when that Tower comes down."

"Hold on, General," Havoc said, putting a hand out, "You stay here."

"Havoc, I'm fine with..."

"Don't argue with me _Camper_," Havoc said, pulling Granger's code-name as a Commando out, "You were, are one of our top soldiers, but you need to coordinate several attacks at once, you can't do that travelling from Red Zone locale to Red Zone locale. I'll lead it in the field, you need someone out there who can knock out entire bases. I'm it, even if I'm old."

"Havoc, this isn't the time..."

"Damn it, Jack," Havoc said, "You're days in the field are over; you're an officer, a God damn general! You're needed to coordinate the attack. I'm still a field grunt monkey, I can tackle the small scale stuff, you make sure we get our objectives and keep it organized, I'll knock out whatever targets need knocking."

"Damn it, I'm not sitting here while my men are risking their..."

Havoc snorted, "General, you're the closest thing we have to a competent leader for GDI _as a whole_, if you get blown up, well, Mitchell's good, but you're better. Shouldn't have to mention Boyle. You're respected for upholding GDI's ideals yet adapting to the new environments. General Jack _Camper_ Granger," he emphasized the old Commando codename, "As your instructor, I'm telling you to stand down here."

Granger's lips twitched, as if remembering Havoc's brutal training regimen that made a habit of nearly killing him once a week; a standard GDI commando practice, but Havoc made it even rougher; "Alright Havoc, what's the real reason? You argue with that logic, but I know you. There's something more."

Havoc simply said with a low tone, "Look, you're daughter is probably in surgery right now, and if what I heard was right, she's damn well in pain; I know you can't be with her because of your duties, but you damn well should at least be able to get the news at a time where you can _appreciate_ what the families of all the soldiers we've lead to death went through." He paused, "I'm not being cruel, General; but I think we're all losing touch. Your great-grandfather didn't lose his touch against Stalin back in World War Two; your father didn't lose his during the Eastern Conflicts after Tib War One. And you damn well didn't lose it during the Second Tiberium War; you _fought_ alongside them, and watched them die; bleeding, burning; even melting... General; during this war, you've been either here in a command post, or you were in a Mammoth Tank; you haven't seen the _hell_ of an infantry war or most tanks in a long time. You've seen it through EVA; holograms that don't show the real thing."

He paused, letting it sink in... then thought of his own actions during the war... he hadn't visited any families, but he'd seen them; in the cemeteries, tearing up as they received the news... even just sitting there, staring... it had an effect on him, he knew it. It always faded when it came time to show himself publically, he had a reputation to uphold; but he shivered, remembering seeing Gunner taking a hit from a Cyborg Commando during the Firestorm Crisis; Deadeye dying with his whole body just _exploding_ with gaseous Blue Tiberium from a chemical missile strike aimed at him, too fast for him to escape; Patch stricken sick from Tiberium poisoning and dying, his body crystallizing in front of him as the flesh was absorbed into the Tiberium crystals and used to make even more... and Hotwire... he never knew what happened to her, save that she went missing and her uniform was found in a Red Zone; tattered, and next to a wrecked Mammoth Mark II walker... with dozens of CABAL cyborgs left as scrap metal nearby. and he had never seen nor heard from Sakura after her transmission warning him of where Sydney Mobius was held. _To think that I still see that... all my friends dead in a single crisis, just hours from each other..._

He continued, "I still see them, General Granger; I still do. I haven't forgotten at all. No; I put on the arrogance because well, I am damn it, but inside... I can't deny that I've had my heart ripped out. That's why I wanted to avoid getting attached to anyone; especially other Commandos. We might as well have '_badass_' printed on our ID cards, but we're still mortal. I have to remember that; even if I don't admit it to others. I had my job... and you have yours. You can do the most from your position here in the Pentagon; when Boyle wants to interfere, you need to be able to head it off as soon as possible."

"Alright Havoc; I'll stay and coordinate." Granger said, "But if things get too insane down there, _I'm coming down_, and you can't stop me. You're right, I haven't seen the war for what it is, but I damn well do not intend to let my feelings over my daughter get in the way of our duties." He inhaled, "If she dies, Havoc, I'll grieve, remember her for who she was; but if I have to hold it until this war is over, the I _will_. If she _does_ die, I damn well won't let it be a waste if I can."

Havoc nodded, "All that can be asked." He saluted, one of the rare times he did it genuinely, then turned to leave; at the door, he said, "By the way, General;"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I had to shout at you like that." Havoc wasn't sure if his tone was able to convey if he meant it or not, but for once, he did, "But I think you needed to hear it. If we let ourselves get too much machine and electronics between us and war... we forget."

XXX

As Havoc left; Granger sat down, thinking. He had thought he'd seen it all when he became a General; he'd survived the worst conflicts in human history up to that point; he had a daughter to raise alone as Sarah's mother had left and Brink, McNeil's old communications officer he had a brief relationship with during the Crisis, which was ended brutally when CABAL knocked out her post and captured her; he'd felt it all, he thought. He'd seen a divorce that ended not with an admission they rushed it, but shouts and a storming out; a defection, even... after that, he couldn't think of finding any form of comfort; he focused on raising Sarah as best he could as an adult; but still, he had always worried about her, especially what she'd have to live up to... but he had never felt the true fear of Sarah being a Zone Raider; while still a threat, even he admitted that Nod was weaker than before...

Then came the first attack on Sarajevo; multiple GDI regiments of thousands of soldiers, killed almost to the man save for small pockets of survivors. Then he realized what he hadn't experienced; he thought Sarah to be dead, and he realized the feeling he had felt during the whole war; it was a fear of a parent for their child, as the child went off to war, he knew that no matter how well trained any soldier was, no matter how well equipped or how experienced, a soldier always risked his or her life the moment they stepped out of anything. That brutally reminded him that Sarah's life could of well been ended with a single bullet; and he had, for a time, thought it so, until Havoc contacted him...

He shook his head; even if she lived, he knew she was probably going to miss out the rest of the war... in a way, he was disappointed; he'd wanted her to, if she did fight, to be able to see it through, to be able to do her part; he had, intentionally or not, raised her that way. But in another way... he felt like it'd be a relief to know that she wouldn't be on the front lines. He wasn't ashamed to admit that; he shouldn't of felt ashamed to admit that he'd be relieved to know his daughter would not be on the front lines.

**XXXX**

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

**Nightfall**

Ahsoka walked onto the transport. They had a clear shot to the Tower now, and had to move and deploy near the tower, before an Ion Storm cut it off. She glanced around, another feeling of foreboding washing across her; like this was the last time she'd ever see any semblance of civilization. _Don't think about that,_ she thought, _you've been through worse… you don't even need to worry about Tiberium… everyone else does._

As she entered, she became aware that she was being glanced at. She was used to it, by that point. Anyone who hadn't seen her before had heard of her, but when they finally saw her, gawking always ensued.

_Get used to it… it's gonna happen till you're dust._

She sat down in her seat in the troop bay and buckled up. The transport lifted off and formed up with the convoy.

XXXX

**The Next Morning**

**Medical Bay, GDI Base**

**Berne, Switzerland**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Sarah lay in the bed. The surgery was a success, the tumor in her heart removed, windpipe fixed, and her body was going to recover, though some of the wounds were already scarring. She would be, once more, fit for combat. She was also once more in armor, but it was a stripped down version, with only the bare necessities for the Power Packs that Zone Armor used. Most of the actual armor was being repaired in the armory's workshop, along with all the other soldiers' equipment, using some of the Blue Tiberium that had been found at the bottom of the crater, heavily refined at the field refineries the base set up. Although she could get up and walk around, even use a weapon, she hadn't had proper sleep in a while… and still couldn't get any. A medic knocked.

"Oh, come in." Sarah said; her voice no longer weak from pain. She sat up as the medic walked in, holding a typical GDI medical scanner.

"Just a checkup Lieutenant." He scanned her with it, and nodded. "Looks good. Lungs are back to their original state, your windpipe isn't showing signs of forced decay by minor Tiberium exposure, and blood rate is normal."

"But I'm still not healthy enough to fight?" Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No… not for another few days. We want to make sure that there are no lasting effects first. You're certainly welcome to head down to the range however."

"If I'm fit enough to head down to the range," she asked, "Why do I have to occupy a medical ward when someone else might need it?"

"Actually, we have spare space now…" the medic said, "We've treated all who can be treated, and that freed up a good number of rooms… and besides, because you can't quite live without life support from your armor at this time, so you're technically still heavily wounded."

Sarah sighed, laying her head down again. _Why do I have to sit out while the others are out putting their lives at risk? While Rex is putting his life at risk?_

The medic left, and shut the door behind him. Pulling out the GDI transmitter from the near by drawer, she entered her identification.

**Pentagon Uplink Successful**

**Welcome back, Lieutenant.**

_Lieutenant Granger,_

_Your current orders are to recover from injuries. You are confined to base until cleared by the medics._

That was an old message that had been sent to her by EVA, and EVA refused to give the source of the order. _Can't be my father…_ Sarah decided, _he's busy back home…_

She figured it was the medics who left that order. Because of how the chain of command was established, injured soldiers in the medical bay, no matter their rank, were outranked by the medics that treated them. Of course, said medics were unable to court marshal them or such, but could talk to the patient's superiors if they believe the patient's actions were far out of line.

_You have two unread messages._

She pulled up the first one, from her father. It was surprisingly short… _Then again, my father was never one for words. His actions spoke louder._ She began to read the letter.

_Dear Sarah,_

_I pray you're alive to read this. McNeil and Rex told me what happened. As a superior officer, I must congratulate you for your success against the alien Eradicator Hexapod, and inform you that, at General McNeil's request and vouches from several officers, including General Renteria, you've been nominated for the Medal of Honor. As a father… I think I should tell you that what you did was stupid… but brave. Very brave… I'm proud, Sarah, very proud to be your father, and I always will, even if you've passed on. I hope to see you soon and well._

_- Love,_

_Your Father_

Sarah reread the message… _A_ _Medal of Honor?_She was quite shocked… a Medal of Honor was a very rarely given out GDI medal… to earn that, you had to do something that was heavenly above and far beyond the Call of Duty… it was also considered to be a subtle hint to retire from actual combat and to consider other positions within GDI, or even outright retire, as most who earned it had war wounds to testify their earning it… often, they're bound to wheel chairs or crutches. _I was very lucky to get away this easily…_ she decided as she closed the message, but didn't delete it.

She pulled up the second message… from Rex.

_Sarah,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person for when they finally let you out of recovery, but duty called. I've appended to this message something you should be aware off… directly from the Steel Talon's database. Don't worry; it's not something that Boyle can get his hands on._

_I hope you take the… surprise, well, and, I'm sorry about the deceit, but it was necessary in 2033._

_Love,_

_Rex_

_PS: I'd recommend deleting the link as soon as you've finished with it… just in case._

She looked at the link under, and accessed it.

**Password Required**

She thought for several minutes, trying various common codes she suspected Rex might use. His name, Ahsoka's name, even various phrases such as "Steel Talons Rule" or "Ground and Pound", mottos of the Steel Talons.

Then it hit her, and she entered what had to be the code.

**Sarah**

**Access Granted.**

Sarah looked through the files, surprised. These files were from the private, top-secret Steel Talons archives… so secret that even Boyle didn't have the access codes. The sheer volume of what it contained… She read through it, completely disbelieving at what she was reading...

Then she saw the final note in the file… added by General Mitchell two months ago.

_I pity them… they've helped advance our Walker technology and tactics a thousand fold… yet they don't belong here… I feel like… it was wrong that they were able to help us protect our homes, yet we can't help them go home. Regardless, Rex and Ahsoka are an important part of the Steel Talons as of 2047, and have been since they joined… I don't think we'd be where we are today without them._

She was stunned: Rex… potentially GDI's best commander… was a clone of some random mercenary, and Ahsoka wasn't his 'adopted daughter' at all… but an alien herself, and part of some sort of mystic order in a whole different galaxy…

_Good God, is he trying to give me a heart attack?_ She wondered, then… she realized, _Hang on…_Things began to click… Ahsoka's unique bodily features, unseen in the world, even amongst the Forgotten, save for her… Kane's interest in her… Nod's ability to manipulate her DNA when they had failed before with the other mutants… her connection to the Scrin… never mind her friggen laser sword…

_Why is he telling me this… by all indications of these files, they could live their lives and no one would be the wiser…_

Logic came through to her… _He loves me, and can't stand lying to my face. He took a pretty big risk… just so he wouldn't be lying to my face. Does my father know?_

She hesitated… forwarding the data to her father would be right from one point of view… but these were private files belonging to General Mitchell…

_Mitchell must of let Rex have access to the files on himself and Ahsoka._ She decided, feeling awkward as she began to realize the implications. First of all, Rex was ten years older then her in all technicalities… _except for the fact he didn't even live those ten years… he had his growth accelerated…_

Second, he was a _clone_, one out of who knows how many… _None of them are here, so it shouldn't matter… besides, they seem to all have different personalities if these files are any indication..._

And third… Could she love him after the deceit he used? He only just came clean… _No… it made sense why he'd hide it…_

Taking one last overview of the data, she deleted the download and erased the link, then put the transmitter away.

_Don't worry Rex… the secret's safe with me._

XXXXXX

XXXXXX

XXXXXX

Author's Notes:

And thus, the Romance Subplot hath begun in full. To tell truth, when I created Sarah's character, I never intended her and Rex to get into a relationship... but as the fic evolved, I realized, "What the hey, Rex probably won't get such in The Clone Wars, and it's about 14 years anyways." Regarding Ahsoka's visions... make of them what you will...

I realized I may of disturbed 'canon' by making McNeil a General... well, Slavik was a general in Tib Sun, so no reason why his adversary can't be one at this point after cleaning Slavik's can _and_ Kane's can. To those who find the Tiberium Wars book canon in all senses of the word... I never read it, and it wasn't even considered high in canon rating by most fans anyways, thus I'm not using any characters from it. Besides, someone had to be responsible for the African battle front once the Towers start going down.

Now get those reviews in! I'm getting to a pretty tight area and some constructive criticism would be very appreciated! Go ahead and post your thoughts on any foreshadowing there may be as well... I will not confirm nor deny, but I'll let people speculate.

FYI, I'm well aware a single Zone Raider, even the daughter of a GDI general, shouldn't be able to get a Hexapod f**ked up single handed and get away alive... in my defense, she's got Tanya's plot-shield rating of badass and all Sarah did was make it vulnerable to GDI's proper guns.

**Revised Author's Notes: This one was much easier to rewrite; I had what needed to be there already, I just had to fix the perspective breaks and give it a touch up. I added Havoc in for some well; havoc, and added a conversation between Granger and Havoc. A little nod back to the older games; and I chose to have Granger be the Firestorm Taskforce commander during **_**C&C Firestorm**_**, sort of like how Solomon was the Tiberian Dawn commander.**

**And no, I'm not a doctor, so I have no idea what medical crap was involved, I just tried to use common sense, alright?**

**Modified Ahsoka's visions a bit and some of the lead-up too, considering Season 3, but I didn't make anything overly-definitive, for obvious reasons (read: I don't know!)**

**And I semi-lied about not using characters from the book **_**Tiberium Wars**_**, but they're more snippets acknowledging the two under McNeil's command and I'd say it's safe to say Ricardo Vega was instead an officer for a while rather than a new grunt for the Third Tiberium Wars. Really, he's just a placeholder for McNeil's second in command.**

**Also; to those rereading; just because it's a revision doesn't mean you can't review; and I'd like some suggestions on what to focus on when rewriting, to make the story as best as I can with my talent.**


	15. Chapter 15: Never to be Forgotten

_Alexa has jeopardized all my plans in her misplaced fear… she has disabled LEGION when he is most needed. I must now rely on fools like Marcion to stop and slow GDI's advance on the towers… yet I cannot let GDI be defeated… without LEGION, the Marked cannot arise to defeat the Visitors if GDI fails… All hangs in the balance now… by a clone._

- Recent Entry in the dia- uh, I mean, Private Log of Kane

_Alright men, here's the mission: We hit those aliens sons of bitches hard and in their faces. The Towers are out of reach, but when they _can_ get attacked, we have to be ready to act. This isn't just for the glory; no, there's no glory in what we're doing. What we're doing is duty; our duties to humanity, our duties to ourselves; our duties to our families. We win here, and we keep fighting until the aliens are nothing more than scrap under a Mammoth Tank. It's up to us to knock out the tower in Australia; once it's done, we're getting out of here before Nod retaliates. This is a full blown assault with a quick pull out; we hit the target, complete whatever objectives sent by command, and escape before we're bogged down in Nod units. Suit up and roll out!_

- Commander Wesley Riggs to his men before preparing to move into position to knock out the Scrin's Australian Threshold Tower, from onboard the Aircraft Carrier _GDS Valkyrie_.

**Chapter 15: Never to be Forgotten**

**GDI Forward Assault Base**

**Rome, Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

Ahsoka walked off the Ox transport as its cargo bay opened. The moment she stepped off, she felt Tiberium. She looked around… it was a paradise for Tiberium, indeed. Entire glaciers of Tiberium were visible, the entire landscape covered in it. There were even pockets of Blue Tiberium around. To Ahsoka, the air was surprisingly pleasant, despite the fact that the smell of death was in the air. Still… she couldn't shake off a feeling that something was going to happen. _Of course something is going to happen, you're heading to war, get a grip on yourself._

Several Drop Pods sped down from orbit, and out of them came a number of Zone Troopers and a smaller number of Zone Raiders. She looked around at the base established… Basic defenses and facilities, with a Tiberium-composite similar to Zone Armor used as a pavement, and a sonic fence encircling the base itself to keep Tiberium out. The Refineries were located at the edge, and were beginning to gather more Tiberium for use in refinement into bullets and replacement parts as needed. Most of the defensive turrets were located along the river and a single bridge connecting the small, artificial island GDI had deployed on to the rest of the battlefield.

Rex walked off of his transport towards the Command Post, but not the Rex she was expecting. His armor was back to Republic White, and not GDI Combat Green, the blue stripes of the 501st still remaining, but the Steel Talon's insignia on his shoulder remained as well. The GDI infantry that walked out of the Ox transports were all equipped with Tiberium Field Suits, even snipers, who, typically, never wore them if they could help it as it gave them away.

"Alright, everything's unloaded!" shouted an Ox pilot, "Let's get outta here before that Ion Storm gets over here!"

With everything unloaded, the Ox transports took off. Ahsoka sighed… no GDI air support could be provided. It was going to be a hell of a fight as GDI had to deal with alien air superiority in an ion storm environment.

As she walked by the command post, she overheard something…

"_Commander, we don't have a proper link, the Ion Cannon can't guarantee a confirmed strike! It's accuracy is impressive, but with the interference from the Ion Particles, targeting is going to be skewered_."

"You have your orders; this may be our last shot before connection is lost." Rex's voice came, loud and clear.

"_Very well. Engaging Ion Cannon_."

In the distance, the Ion Cannon blasted the Alien Tower… and left it wholly intact as the Tower phased partially out of existence, letting the blast pass the tower harmlessly.

"Alright, stand by while we get a proper field control established for the Ion Cannon and figure out how to use the Ion Cannon properly." Rex said, leaving the command post and helping with organization and unloading the equipment.

As the soldiers got organized, Ahsoka spotted two objects in the south making a fast pass… and two from the north… they got closer…

From the north, a pair of Nod Venom VTOL Patrol Craft, and the south, Scrin Stormriders. Both fired on the bridge, causing the old thing to collapsed, then began to dogfight each other. Both went flying into the ground as GDI Pitbulls blasted them out of the sky with R3-S6 rockets.

"What the _HELL_ is Nod doing here?" McCarthy asked, passing Ahsoka.

"I dunno," Ahsoka said honestly, "But something tells me that they're here to stop us."

Rex climbed onto a crate.

"Alright men!" Rex shouted, "I'm going to be frank, this entire operation is a test case to take out those towers. It's our job to find their weakness and how to exploit it. The Ion Cannon failed, so we have to get closer and prevent the aliens from phasing the Tower out of existence for the Ion Cannon blast! Orders have been sent. Engineering is going to be working on the bridge, but until then, our Zone units will take point, initiate recon, and do what damage they can."

A general chorus of affirmatives echoed as squad leaders confirmed their orders. Ahsoka tapped her wrist-EVA unit.

"**Lieutenant Tano, you will be assigned to lead all Zone units for the duration of this operation. Your first objective is to take them and secure foot holds and evaluate the alien presence."**

Ahsoka called the Zone infantry, and they rendezvoused just outside of the base's sonic fence. They went to the east side, and began to evaluate their landing.

Suddenly however, Shock Troopers teleported over the chasm. Ahsoka lit her lightsaber, deflecting the discs back, as Zone Troopers fired their Rail Guns and Zone Raiders their grenade launchers. Suddenly however, a squadron of Seekers, confirmed non-teleport capable vehicles, appeared next to the Shock Troopers and began to open fire as well. Titans finally arrived and opened fire on the Seekers, blasting them apart.

"What the hell was that?" one of the Troopers asked.

"**We have reports of a Mastermind teleporting units across the chasm to engage us. We need to deal with it before we can consider repairing the bridge."** EVA explained.

"Lovely…" Ahsoka said, "Alright, looks like we got a job ahead of us. Rex, we clear to begin our operation?"

"_By all means Lieutenant_," Rex responded over the radio, "_If you can plant beacons, I think I can have Behemoths target enemy forces for you_."

"Got it Rex, Ahsoka out." She turned to the Troopers and Raiders, "Alright then, we ready?"

"Ready ma'am."

"Follow me then." Ahsoka engaged her Jump Jet, launching across the chasm. As she landed, she ignited her lightsaber, deflecting the initial plasma discs from surprised Seeker tanks. It looked like a forward artillery base to Ahsoka, as there was anti-air covering the approach. Two of the Troopers and a Raider fell into the glacier chasm as plasma discs blasted them down. They did not get up.

Quickly disposing of the Scrin forces, Ahsoka spotted the "Mastermind", as captured Scrin databanks identified them. It looked at her, and it launched a mental lance at her, attempting to break her down.

_Submit, submit!_ The Mastermind's mental lance raged, pounding her head. It felt like someone had shoved a lightsaber into her face.

_I will not kneel._ Ahsoka thought back, repeating the sentence over and over in her head, focusing on repelling the mental lance. Scrin reinforcements arrived, a pair of Tripods and a number of Disintegrators. The Zone Troopers and Raiders engaged them, coming out easily ahead of the alien grunts and their anti-armor weaponry punching through the Tripods' armor, and as the battle raged, Ahsoka and the Mastermind entered a duel of wills, both knowing that defeat would easily mean death.

Another mental assault commenced, this time like a torrential rain, feeling like someone was shooting her repeatedly at point blank range with a machine gun. She felt herself begin to falter… _Why fight, you won't live much longer anyways?_ A sweet voice was saying in her head, _just submit, and it will all be over soon…_ A series of images began to flash… accepted fate… rituals prepared… and a new generation brought forth… and a glorious victory...

_The quick and easy path is for cowards,_ another voice… her own… she thought… or was it someone else assaulting her mind? She couldn't tell at this point… she felt like she was in a limbo… _You are not a coward; fight this to your last breath._

_Why struggle, you will only bring worse damage to both yourself and those around you? Submit, embrace your destiny._

_Fight him! Don't let him take over your mind!_

_Do not struggle, it will be quite painless, you will sleep a sound sleep, and know peace for eternity, rather than die in pain and suffer across the eons._

"_AHSOKA!"_ The last shout was loud and clear… Rex's voice… and with a yell, she launched the Mastermind's attempt to subvert her mind out, and rushed towards him. The Mastermind, seeing Ahsoka rush towards him, gave a pitiable sequel as Ahsoka's lightsaber cut into him, slicing it in half. The two halves fell apart. She looked around; the Zone infantry were finishing off the last of the enemy infantry; she stumbled, dazed, as the mental assault took its toll. Someone held onto her, keeping her from falling; Lieutenant Park.

"Thanks," Ahsoka answered.

"They weren't kidding about the mind control, were they?" Park remarked, shaking her head. Ahsoka shrugged, then activated her wrist EVA unit;

"Knocked out the Mastermind, Commander." Ahsoka reported; "A few men down, but otherwise we came out on top."

"_Excellent work_!" Rex responded via radio, "_We're still working on repairing the bridge… EVA is reporting an alien super weapon, which the pencil necks think is some sort of Ion Cannon equivalent called a Rift Generator_."

"Got it Rex, we'll take it out."

"_Try and do it before it fires, we can't afford to take a hit from it. It was probably what knocked out the recon teams_."

Gathering the Zone infantry, they continued east. And they spotted it: A Rift Generator. Four pedal-like appendages came out from a small base, resembling a flower that has yet to bloom, holding an orb of energy resembling a black hole. Four power stations pumped directly into it, and four Plasma Missile Batteries, the alien Anti-Air defense, were also built.

But they were not effective against ground forces. Ahsoka rushed up, and placed C4 on the Rift Generator. As she got clear to detonate it, she chuckled to herself at how easy it was, and said aloud, "You'd of figured the _super weapon_ would be better defended…" she pressed the detonate button, and it blew sky high, obliterated, then the parts began to implode as it was sucked into whatever rift it crated.

However, right on cue… three Devastator Warships appeared overhead and began to rain plasma discs down on her. As a volley impacted around her, she groaned, "Not again…" before the explosion blew her away towards the Scrin base. She landed hard in a Tiberium field, the crystals braking off as she landed.

XXXX

Park clamped down on a curse as she saw Ahsoka go flying, unable to bring whatever crap she had to bear. "Raiders, we need to hit those ships; ready rockets; may be our only hope."

"Yes ma'am," answered one of the other Raiders.

The Raiders carefully aimed, and sent a surprise volley of shoulder-mounted rockets, four from each Raider, in concentrated bursts. The rockets slammed into the first Devastator, causing it to fall into the ground and implode… then explode. The other two began to turn and spew plasma towards them when a second volley brought them down. The Raiders then scattered, the Troopers having already pulled back, as plasma began to come down as the last two Devastator tried to stop them. The Raiders kept rockets flying when they could. Park turned as she leapt up, sending another rocket up and hitting the Devastator on the side. She swore as two of the Raiders took direct hits, craters in their chests as they hit the ground; and their bodies decayed to dust in front of her as the Tiberium radiation absorbed the bodies, decaying them quickly, but slow enough it was horrific; the bodies seemed to crystallize and their armor had small clumps forming on the edge inside...

Ducking and reading another rocket, she launched it, jump jetting to her left, narrowly missing death as discs soared past her. The second Devastator began to fall...

XXXX

Ahsoka groaned as she tried to watch and get back to the fight, trying to use a Jedi healing trance to get her on her feet again. She then noticed one of the Scrin's Harvester hover-vehicles… it began to absorb some of the Tiberium… _Handy thing, being able to absorb the environment for energy…_

Then it hit her in the face… _Hang on… I think I can try the same! I mean, my Force powers are stronger near Tiberium... of course! Why didn't I think of it earlier!_ She closed her eyes, and expanded her awareness towards the Tiberium she lay around… and inhaled, draining the energy from the crystalline Tiberium. The clumps began to vaporize, and she felt the energy contained in each crystal drift towards her. She felt her wounds begin to heal instantly as it fueled a Jedi healing trance… and a surprising amount of raw power. The power began to race through her, as if trying to find a way out…

_Oh no…_ Ahsoka realized she had absorbed _too_ much Tiberium and needed an outlet… before it consumed her from within.

A bolt of Ion Lightning struck the ground nearby… and she remembered one of Dooku's favorite weapons… and what happened in Berne with the Ion lightning… _And Plo was proficient in using it as a stun weapon..._

She stood up, and saw a Seeker floating towards her… its intent clear. She focused… and suddenly, lightning began to arc across her arms… with a mighty heave, she pointed both hands, palms forward, at the Seeker, fingers aimed at it… and let the energy flow.

With a loud streak, the lightning flew across towards the Seeker tank, and made impact. The tank was blown backwards by the sudden launch of electricity, and more continued to pound it.

Ahsoka felt herself return towards normal, and let the lightning cease… it ceased, the Seeker tank smoking and cracked. Rushing forward, lightsaber in hand, she cut the tank's turret off, and it collapsed, destroyed. She turned her attention towards the Devastator… it was still volleying. Ahsoka absorbed more power from the nearby Tiberium, and used it to launch another, more intense barrage of electricity at the Devastator as it began to come close to the ground to hunt the Zone Raiders down much more efficiently. Ahsoka rushed up to it, and launched the lightning into it, maintaining the barrage as long as she could… she began to tire as she started pulling in her own energy, rather than that absorbed by Tiberium.

The Devastator turned towards her as she blasted it, and prepared to fire… then the lightning caught its Plasma launcher, and it exploded.

"Sweet Jesus lieutenant!" shouted one of the Troopers coming back, "that was some light show. You pull rabbits out of hats?"

"Not really, Trooper." Ahsoka responded. "Just connected the dots really…" she recalled the cover story the Talons had for her to cover the fact she wasn't human… "Even after 15 years, I'm not used to everything involved in being a mutant."

"_Speaking of mutants,_" Rex's voice came over the communications channel, "_I'm receiving a signal from a mutant who claims his name is 'Ghostalker'. He's offering to help us destroy the main alien base if your Zone forces can attack. Zone Shatterers and Slingshots are being transferred to your side of the chasm, as are a few Slingshots. Use them to take out the base_."

"Roger Roger." Ahsoka responded, mimicking a Battle Droid. Several hovercraft flew up to her, five Zone Shatterers, the improved ZOCOM version of the Shatterer, and a trio of GDI Slingshot AA hovercraft.

"Alright, let's go!" Ahsoka shouted, leading the charge at the Scrin base… Stormriders in the sky turned towards them, but the Slingshots opened fire, bullets rippling into the sky faster than most GDI machine guns and destroying the Stormriders, sending the aircraft plummeting to the earth, exploding into the raw Tiberium used to manufacture the craft. They only had to knock out two Photon Cannons, doing so easily before they could launch more than four discs. They entered the base and began blasting the various Scrin structures.

And it was fast made clear how doomed the base was. Forgotten forces, with a mix of commandeered GDI Second Tiberium War vehicles, salvaged current vehicles, and even First Tiberium War X-66 Mammoth Tanks, the original GDI Mammoth Tank, it was clear these Forgotten would overrun the base if the Scrin focused on Ahsoka, and vice versa if they focused on the Forgotten. Forgotten infantry, armed with various weapons, mostly older GDI rifles moved up, using cover and demolishing the enemy infantry while the sheer numbers balked the Scrin's counter-offensive abilities. Long-range bombardment from older, salvaged and upgraded Nod artillery used by the Forgotten rained down on the base's interior, crippling it.

As Ahsoka deflected plasma discs back at the aliens, the Shatterers began letting the sonic waves flow through the base, ripping apart the alien buildings, causing them to simply shatter as the Tiberium used for literally _everything_ Scrin simply detonated as the resonance characteristics of GDI's sonic weaponry set off chain reactions at the molecular level, blasting the Scrin units and structures to atoms in what was possibly the most painful way possible; and Ahsoka knew they felt the pain in the brief seconds they had before they died.

"_Zone Raider Oh-Six-Five to Forgotten Forces, set your audio frequencies to Oh-Oh-Alpha-Romeo-Juliet so we don't blow your ears out_." came Park over the radio, GDI general frequency.

"Won't help us much, Tiberium in the flesh, remember?" a Forgotten, Ghostalker probably, responded, "Check your aim with Sonics, use Second Tiberium War _Disruptor_ tactics in regards to the sonic weaponry."

"_Right…_" the Raider responded. "_OK… check your aim double-timer Sonics; we might wind up hitting friendlies. Tag all Shiners as non-hostile_."

"Forgotten, Lieutenant; or if you're being technical, mutants." Ahsoka reminded.

"_Oh, right… no offense, Lieutenant_."

"None taken!" Ahsoka shouted, deflecting a disc away from the Park after landing next to her from a back flip to avoid a spray of Tiberium flechettes from a modified Photon Cannon. Shortly after, the Canon exploded as Forgotten artillery fire rained down.

She rushed forward as a new Annihilator Tripod marched out of the Warp Chasm in the base. She leapt up, landing on one of its three legs, and then stabbed it in its 'eye'. The Tripod and it's pilot within gave a horrific scream, and fell to the ground, dead. Ahsoka rode the body down, and leapt off just before it hit; landing and crouching, leaping onto a Devourer Tank that turned its attention to her, narrowly dodging one of its super-charged beams. She landed on the tank, and cut the cannon off, causing it to leak Tiberium. Drawing the stored Tiberium in its reservoirs, she unleashed a withering barrage of lightning at the Drone Ship as it tried to unpack. The Drone ship began to stall…

Something hit her in the face then…_Hang on… lightning is supposed to be a dark side power… yet… I don't feel any darker…_

Five X-66 Mammoths moved into position, firing their dual cannons and rocket pods at the Drone Ship, bringing it down as it tried to escape.

_No… it's how it's used is what makes something light or dark… I'm using it to stop those who would, have, murdered the innocent and would kill an entire species just for a few credits. Still… I should be a less… liberal, with my use of this new found ability… I mean, sure, Plo used it; what'd he call it;_ Electric Judgment_ if I recall my studies right..._

A single Forgotten soldier, armed with what looked to Ahsoka like an older Rail Gun prototype, blasted a trio of Shock Troopers away with ease, the sheer kinetic force of the round jerking Ahsoka out of her thoughts… a single Scrin Shock Trooper teleported, and was about to get a shot onto him…

A plasma disc flew out towards the soldier, but was intercepted by a flash of green, and the Shock Trooper collapsed, coated in purple goo that burned.

"Nice landing, friend." the soldier said over his back to Ahsoka, as he blasted a squad of Disintegrators away, the five aliens had charged him in a straight line, only to be obliterated by a red burst of light. Ahsoka released the last of the extra Tiberium energy she had absorbed and blasted a group of Shock Troopers teleporting to the other side away with a short burst of lightning; a small smile crept to her face, _He said he never felt anger using it; I'm not feeling any now. I'm probably using in unconsciously... or maybe I'm using creating something like Ion Lightning._ She shrugged unconsciously, satisfied with the explanation she came up with, and turned to the soldier.

"Nice to meet you too, name's Ahsoka Tano, yours?"

"I am known as Ghostalker. It is an honor to fight alongside you, Ahsoka Tano."

GDI and Forgotten forces linked up, and wiped the base out. Ahsoka was impressed to see the Forgotten in action; they clearly didn't have GDI's training nor funding, but they fought with a courage few GDI soldiers could match, and that gave them strength as the last remnant of the base was wiped out... GDI had taken casualties, and the Forgotten more. _But that's the reality of war_, Ahsoka reminded herself as Ghostalker dusted off next to her. His old wrist EVA unit beeped.

"_Commander Rex to Ghostalker of the Forgotten, please come in_."

"Ghostalker here," Ghostalker was talking into a wrist EVA similar to those GDI used in the 2nd Tiberium War. "I thank you for your timely arrival. Dread Milano's predictions were true, it seems. Both Defenders and Forgotten would ally against the Visitors."

"Dread Milano?" Ahsoka asked, surprised. She had never heard the name before… and Ghostalker did not seem surprised.

"He is a Prophet, young one, with the same gift that Tratos had. He foresaw that GDI would attack the tower, to protect humanity, and that they would be wiped out, if we did not aid them here and in the future against the Invaders."

"_Guess we'll never know now_,_ and probably for the best._" Rex said, "_We've fixed the bridge, all forces are deploying. Ahsoka, activate your EVA map would'ya? I want Ghostalker to see the plan of attack_."

Ahsoka punched a few buttons on her Wrist EVA unit… nothing.

"Uh… I think I accidently fried it…" Ahsoka said… "Only the communications seem to be working…"

She heard an exasperated sigh on the other end, and heard Rex mutter something that sounded distinctly like 'Jedi'. "_OK… there's three phase generators keeping an Ion Strike off, and they're protected from ranged attacks themselves. To destroy them, we'll have to set C4 on them most likely. I'm going after the north one with the GDI forces, it's the second most heavily defended. If you and Ghostalker can take care of the bottom one, the least defended, we can team up on the most heavily defended, the middle one, which also leads directly to the Tower if needed_."

"Sounds good to me Rex… Ghostalker?" Ahsoka asked.

"A solid strategy, Commander. We will support you. You have our swords." Ghostalker nodded.

"Understood, Rex out."

Ahsoka popped the EVA open and found that she had, in fact, only popped out the wires with an overcharge. By reconnecting them, she had the wrist EVA all set.

XXXXXX

"_Nod forces are retaliating! Blow those suckers out of the sky!"_ McCarthy shouted as a squadron of Carryalls flew in, unloading a number of Nod militants, infused with Tiberium, and tanks. Rex turned his Titan to open fire, blasting a Carryall apart as it landed. Slingshots made short work of four more, leaving only two left to drop reinforcements. The hordes surged forward, attempting to overwhelm GDI, but Wolverines got in their way, and ripped them to literal shreds with a hailstorm, no, a **wall** of bullets. Rex shook his head as the dead militants decayed rapidly in front of him, the Tiberium absorbing the leftover nutrients left in their dead bodies like a sponge. _What a waste of life… man spam in Tiberium. It's like telling those under your command that they aren't worthy of life or your consideration. How can people just keep volunteering for it when they know they're going to die in a human wall?_

Well, whatever the reason, Rex had a job to do. He did it, but he still mourned the excessive loss of life that was likely unneeded. The Nod retaliation crippled, he turned his attention towards the 24 Devourer Tanks that were coming up, backed up by four Tripods, supported by a squadron of twelve Stormriders, and with almost a hundred Disintegrators moving up with them. The Slingshots ripped the Stormriders apart and the Titans began to trade volleys with the Devourer Tanks. Behemoths bombarded the Tripods, which opened fire on the Titans as well. Rex grunted as his walker shook from a Devourer's tank hit. Rex repaid the favor by blasting the offending tank to shrapnel, obliterating the cockpit of the enemy tank and sending its pilot (or what was left of him) into the sky. Wolverines opened fire with their chain guns, ripping the enemy Disintegrator infantry apart as the bullets cut through their lightly armored carapaces with ease.

As the Titans advanced, he could see the Phase Generator, looking like a base ball, except it was cut out into the center, like two cones on each other's top. Guarded by various defensive turrets with their own personal power array, it looked like something that would protect a super-important building. The last Tripod attempting to stop him at range collapsed under fire from Titans. Rex noticed that three of his Titans and twelve Wolverines were lying down as scrap metal, various metal parts scattered about. He sighed as the photon cannons the aliens deployed began to open fire, but Behemoths targeted them, reducing them to scrap before they could knock out another Titan or Wolverine. Rex's marched up towards the Phase Generator, and lowered his Titan, hopping out, and planting C4 on the generator. As he got back into the Generator, a big, purple, glowing wormhole opened.

"**Wormhole Opening!"** EVA shouted.

"Yeah, bit late sweetie…" Rex muttered as a Seeker tank came out. Stomping on it with his Titan's legs, he marched out of the way, turning the turret and opening fire into the wormhole as he went back, hoping it went to the other side and plastered a Scrin or two. Behemoths fired into the Wormhole, trying to prevent the reinforcements. Hordes of Scrin forces poured out, Seekers, Gun Walkers, Disintegrators, the works. Rex detonated the C4 with the press of a button, the Phase Generator detonating spectacularly. The aliens screamed, and rushed into the Wormhole, which closed once the last alien was in.

"They don't exactly stick around, do they?" Rex commented, pulling up a diagnostic of his Titan's status. Heavily damaged. _Critically_ damaged in the right leg. "Get an MRT over here ASAP," he ordered, "This thing's going to collapse if I don't get the Gyro…"

He was cut off as the Titan collapsed onto its side, Rex held in place only by the crash webbing. He cursed as he hit the seat as the Titan came down and landed.

"Commander!" shouted a Mobile Repair Transport crewman, "You alright?"

"Yeah, just need some polish." Rex muttered as he began to unbuckle the crash webbing. _Time to switch to a Behemoth…_ He popped the hatch open. "Behemoth Oh-Five-Three, stand by for my arrival, I'm going to command from there."

"Understood," the Behemoth driver responded. Behind the other Titans, a Behemoth squatted down. Rex sighed as he got out of the wrecked Titan. An MRT and a Pitbull ATV drove up, the Pitbull's door opening, the co-driver/gunner saying, "We can squeeze you in, Commander."

"Thank you." Rex said, hopping down.

XXXX

"There, the Phase Generator." Ghostalker said, pointing at it. Ahsoka nodded as she looked at it. Not overly defended, just a pair of Buzzer hives, a Photon cannon, and a Plasma Disc AA battery.

"Something tells me they expected this one to be the easiest to defend," Ahsoka said… "Assuming they had a base." She looked behind her at the ruins of the Scrin base… now nothing more than radioactive rubble. The Forgotten X-66 Mammoths rolled up, escorted by 2nd Tiberium War Titans and the original Wolverine… a box with legs and two chain guns for arms. _The newer Wolverine sure is more… elegant… though it's still a walking metal coffin when they bring heavy armor._

"Agreed," Ghostalker answered, "But we must be cautious, they are likely to have a contingency."

"Good point. Still, this shouldn't be too hard." In the distance, Ahsoka could make out Rex's forces engaging an alien guard forces. "Let's go, clean it quick with the Mammoths and blow it to space."

Quickly advancing, they only encountered a few scattered pairs of Shock Troopers as they advanced. The Mammoths destroyed the Buzzer hives, Ahsoka rushed up and disabled the Photon Cannon, knocking its plasma discs away with her lightsaber, then cutting it apart with it, and the Plasma Disc Battery collapsed as the older Titans took it out. Ahsoka, seeing no enemies, walked up, and slapped a few C4 charges onto the Phase Generator…

Then a wormhole opened right above her… and out dropped a squadron of Gun Walkers… and they were pointing their guns right at her.

"Stang…" Ahsoka cursed as she ignited her lightsaber. _Can't jump without flying into the Wormhole, and I can't deflect all the blasts…_ However, the Gun Walkers were forced to move as a Tripod came down. Taking advantage of that, Ahsoka rolled out of the way, and got clear of the Wormhole, leaping over the crossfire between the Forgotten's salvaged Titans and X-66 Mammoths and the Scrin. She detonated the C4 once she landed, and the Scrin retreated into the wormhole. She wondered why they suddenly pulled back; then figured that it was because they were going to regroup at the last Phase Generator. She activated her wrist EVA unit;

"Lieutenant Tano to Commander Rex, we've taken out the eastern Phase Generator."

"_Good, we're moving into the center. Get ready to pound the last one with everything we got. Behemoths, prepare to rain shells on the defenses_!"

Ahsoka relayed Rex's orders, and they moved up to the central valley that the final generator was located. They encountered no resistance as they rendezvoused with the majority of the GDI attack force.

As the Forgotten and GDI forces began to merge, some camaraderie akin to that of the Second Tiberium War came into play, soldiers greeting each other and getting names… though some kept their distance… no one needed to ask why. Even after all these years, humans and mutants still had distrust for each other for various offenses; no party was innocent in the dealings between non-mutated humanity and the Forgotten.

A Behemoth marched up, and it lowered, the crew compartment opening. Rex walked out, and nodded to Ahsoka and Ghostalker. "Good to finally meet you, Ghostalker." Rex said, extending his hand. "Commander Rex, GDI Steel Talons division. Pleasure to meet you."

"An honor likewise. I hear that McNeil will come down to Africa soon?"

"Correct," Rex said, "If you can communicate to the Forgotten, I'm sure General McNeil would be glad to assist you, or if you're able to, vice versa."

"Let us begin then," Ghostalker said as the Behemoths began to shell the defenses around the last Phase generator.

"You know… would a delayed fire mechanism word for detonation?" Ahsoka asked as a Behemoth struck the Phase Generator, the shell exploding, but a few pieces of shrapnel bouncing off of the generator itself.

"Behemoth 892, delay the detonation of shells, target the phase generator with a lob-shot." Rex ordered. The Behemoth aimed up upwards, in a much higher and than typical, and fired. A shell landed on the phase generator, leaving no damage to it… then it blew up, damaging the Phase Generator.

"Resume the tactic until the phase generator goes out." Rex ordered, "It seems to be working. All Behemoths, acquire targeting solutions and fire at will. Make every shot count."

"**Wormhole Opening!"** EVA warned, and sure enough, one more Wormhole opened up, bringing in hordes of alien reinforcements… likely supplemented from survivors of the other two. Several alien repair drones (At least, that's what Rex thought they were) also appeared, and began to repair the Phase generator.

The Aliens stepped up their counter-offensive as Behemoths began lobbing delayed-detonation rounds. Titans began slugging it out with Devourer Tanks, Wolverines with Gun Walkers, Predator Tanks with Seekers, and GDI Infantry against Shock Troopers and Disintegrators…

Ahsoka parried discs back at Shock Troopers, and watched as the Predator Tanks, closer than the Titans, began to take hits from enemy Seeker tanks that tried to close the distance for brutal close-range barrages, but GDI's armor divisions didn't allow that to happen, but tanks took consistent damage as they held the line.

Suddenly, a large, feral-looking group of aliens roared and charged forward, glowing green with Tiberium. Suddenly, they began to spit Tiberium shards, cutting down GDI's light infantry as they charged. Wolverines shifted their aim, gunning them down in payback as the Predators opened fire on the enemy Gun Walkers, the Seekers disabled.. Still more came, ravaging GDI infantry as they spat out shards.

Ahsoka reached out towards one, lifting it into the air… and hurled it into its comrades. Suddenly, as if the Tiberium they hit was agitated, they exploded, the piece of Tiberium they hit detonating as well. _That's a new one._ Ahsoka decided before pulling a grenade from her tool belt and throwing it.

"Crap!" McCarthy shouted as a shard of Tiberium jammed his gun, he ducked behind a blown-over Wolverine, pulling out his combat pistol.

XXXX

Ghostalker looked at an alien Corruptor, as the centipede aliens were called, and it roared, spewing out a stream of liquid Tiberium; he aimed and fired, his Rail Gun, an older but far more powerful model, streaked forward in a burst of red light, blowing a hole into its vat on its rear and punching into the Gun Walker next to it. He reloaded as another Corruptor began to slather GDI soldiers, melting them as the Tiberium clogged the seals and corrupted the armor; the soldiers, dripping, opened fire with everything they had, but it would be too little, for as a second joined in the slathering, the suits were over welmed, and the soldiers melted... several screamed as they seemed to collapse... Ghostalker fired, his rail gun reloaded and cooled, blasting both Corruptors apart. He heard horrified shouts and screams nearby; some of the soldiers melted down had been turned into Visceroids!

He aimed at the two poor soldiers, and fired; the rail gun round blasted through both of the soldiers-turned-Visceroids and the two exploded. He could tell from the body language that the soldiers nearby were shocked out of their wits to see their friends turned into the unstable mutations. _A great tragedy,_ Ghostalker decided; then was forced to the ground as he was slathered by the Tiberium sludge from another Corruptor; he saw bursts of blue light as Predators engaged the Corruptor, blasting it with repeated tank hits.

XXXX

Finally, the last Phase Generator went down as one last volley from the Behemoths struck it. The Threshold Tower suddenly became exposed… Rex breathed a sigh of relief from the crew cabin of the Behemoth he was directing the battle from.

"**Wormholes Opening! Alien Devastators inbound for our base!"** EVA suddenly blared. Sure enough, twelve Alien Devastator Warships flew out of the Wormholes, and Stormriders escorting them in pairs…

The Ion Storms around the Zone began to cease and concentrate directly on the Tower…

"We've pissed Nod off now; they're going for the base!" Stevenson shouted as the GDI base defenses opened fire at Nod forces flying in from all directions. "Rex! You're caught in the open, get back to base!"

"Damn it, those Devastators are going to destroy us all!" Park shouted, jump jetting out of the way of a barrage that claimed several riflemen and a Titan.

"_This is GDI Stratosphere Command; Ion Storms are confirmed to be combining to protect the tower by artificial handling. You are clear for Air Support. Strato-Squadron One, Strato-Squadron Two, support the good commander. Destroy the Invader warships_."

"_Affirmative Stratosphere Command, Captain Horn en route."_

Suddenly, a super-sonic whoosh and whine was heard… and twelve Firehawks dived in from low orbit, Rattlesnake Missiles firing into the Devastator squadron, the four Rattlesnakes proving to be capable of bringing each Devastator down. The remaining Stormriders engaged them in a dogfight, but the GDI Slingshots brought them low. More Aliens poured out of the Wormholes by the assault force… it was quickly clear GDI could not face those numbers without stopping the source.

"**Ion Cannon almost in position Commander; stand by!"**

Rex directed the Behemoths to open fire on the incoming Reaper Tripods, which began firing their Tiberium-enhanced beams at the Titans, blasting one so powerfully that the two Titans nearby buckled. Predator Tanks opened fire, backing up slowly as the GDI forces pulled out. Ahsoka deflected one of the beams directly back into the eye of a Tripod, causing it and it's pilot to scream and the Tripod collapsed. Titans blasted Devourers apart as the aliens continued their frenzied charge…

The Firehawks, rearmed with Hellcat bombs, flew in and bombed the Tripods and infantry hordes, causing excessive casualties.

"**Five…"**

Ahsoka screamed as a Ravager detonated Tiberium directly under her, sending her flying backwards.

"**Four…"**

Focused fire from the Behemoths blew apart the Tripods one by one…

"**Three…"**

The X-66 Mammoths of the Forgotten were blasted out of the way as the Tripods focused on them… Ghostalker single-handedly took a cocky Tripod out, leaping onto it and leaving C4 as a present between the legs, and detonated it, bringing the Tripod down.

"**Two…"**

Ahsoka, recovering, began to, to Rex's surprise, _absorb_ (or what looked like absorbing) some of the Tiberium near her, and unleashed a wave of lightning, vaporizing a Devourer Tank as it became the focus of her assault. _Stang,_ Rex thought, _Thought that was Dark Side stuff..._

"**One…"**

The Nod Venom tried to take on the Firehawks, but were gunned down, Wolverines ripping apart any Nod militants that landed, and Orca's, recently arrived, destroyed Scorpion Tanks by the dozen as they bombarded the enemy base with repeated rocket attacks, missiles streaking down and exploding with brutal frenzy.

"**Fire at Will, Commander!"**

"FIRE!" Rex shouted, "Give it _everything you got! Turn that tower to __**DUST!**_"

Suddenly, the Ion Cannon blasted into the Tower, the beam flying directly into the center…

XXXXXXX

Ahsoka watched as the Threshold Tower superheated… as the Ion particles passed through it, it glowed red-hot, almost white hot… she could feel the sheer energy contained that was about to be released… and braced herself for it. All was suddenly silent…

It seemed like time had stopped; everything was moving so slowly it was unbearable, as if she was in bullet time, immersed in the Force and it's currents. The wait between the strike and the actual explosion of a massive explosion had always been a delayed thing, feeling like forever until it happened.

Suddenly, with the force of a thousand nuclear missiles capable of leveling cities, the tower exploded, Tiberium flying in all directions, anyone within a 100 meter radius instantly vaporized… and only the Scrin were within 100 meters… Ahsoka felt the flash of burning pain as the Scrin were vaporized. The Wormholes suddenly vanished, as if their connection was lost. The Ion Storms began in earnest, Firehawks and Orcas flying back to the base with all the haste they could put into their engines. Ion Lightning began to spread uncontrollably, blasting Nod Venom patrol craft and Vertigo Bombers alike out of the sky. As Ahsoka watched the destruction, she could feel how much power had been released…

_It's like the whole stanging Jedi Order did one massive push, all at once…_ she was amazed at how much power was stored in those towers; so much she nearly lost her head to a plasma disc launched by an enraged Shock Trooper, which was shot dead by several pistol shots to the head. _To think that these… things could create _nineteen_ of these things… easily…_ Ahsoka felt her spine chill as she thought of how powerful the Scrin were... then someone grabbed her arm;

"C'mon Lieutenant!" McCarthy shouted, pulling her as he ran towards the GDI base, joining the general retreat, "The Storm is gettin' hot; we need to get to cover!" Ahsoka jerked his arm off and nodded. She glanced around;

"Ghostalker!" Ahsoka shouted, "Get your men to the GDI base! You can bunk with us 'till the storm passes!"

"Thank you for your hospitality!" Ghostalker responded as he jumped into Ahsoka; knocking her out of the way of an Ion Lightning bolt.

"Thanks for the save," Ahsoka said, joining the GDI escapees as they sprinted past.

"_Move it, move it!"_ she heard from Rex over the radio, _"All units RTB, I repeat, RTB. Help those you can._

XX

GDI mostly escaped the carnage of the destroyed tower… mostly. Several Titans, more Wolverines, and two Behemoths were caught in the lightning and downed… GDI search and Rescue wasn't able to get there in time. Many infantry lay dead from both the battle itself and the remaining atoms of others struck by the Ion Lightning. All in all, GDI forces had lost over two squadrons of Titans, twice that many Wolverines and thirty Predator Tanks. Zone Infantry had it luckier, but they still took a dozen casualties. The Forgotten, however, fared much worse from their older technology, losing a fourth or so of their multi-hundred man assault force. While more were going to arrive to support the next attack, Rex, Ahsoka, and Ghostalker all voiced concerns for how the Forgotten would handle. Rex offered to at the very least use the harvested Tiberium that the base collected as per GDI protocol to equip the Forgotten better. Ghostalker accepted.

XX

**Four Days Later…**

**GDI Forward Assault Base**

**Rome, Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

"Damn transmitter…" Rex muttered as he hit it again.

"Stop hitting it Rex," Ahsoka said from under it, rolling out from the repair stretcher she was on, "You're making it worse."

"Worked in Egypt." Rex muttered, then winced as he remembered what happened there. Sighing, he turned around and looked at those assembled. Ghostalker, looking calm as ever, sat with his older Rail Gun slung across his back casually, for it was unloaded and the charging mechanism was offline. McCarthy, now bearing a Lieutenant's rank chevron on his shoulders, sat there looking grave, for his men had taken casualties and he was promoted to fill in a gap. Stevenson, who was accessing the supply manifest, seemed to be off in his own little world, and several others, including Park, the Zone Raider Lieutenant and a Forgotten officer who Rex only knew as "Guard Chaser" were also present at the meeting. _Wonder how he got his name…_ Rex wondered about the Forgotten officer, before Ahsoka said, "Got it!" He turned around, glancing out the window.

The Ion Storm began to clear… and finally, static on the screen.

"OK, just need to spike the power and we should be set for a transmission," Ahsoka said as she hotwired the transmitter.

"Co-an-der Re- Please" the transmission was garbled.

With a sudden surge, it cleared. General Granger was on screen.

"_Commander, report, before we lose contact again_!" Granger ordered, within the Pentagon.

"We found a way, General!" Rex hurriedly shouted, making sure it was loud and clear, "Either slap C4 onto the alien phase generators or delayed-detonation shells from Behemoths or Juggernauts! Then Ion Cannon the damn Tower to hell! Make sure you're clear when you do, the aliens respond with devastating force once this happens, and the Ion Storm it creates is insane, registering beyond anything seen before!"

"_Ten-Four Commander_!" Granger responded.

Sandra rushed up within the transmission, and quickly said, "_Commander, we've located what looks to be the Alien's main base… their Relay Node, according to the Tacitus, take out the Node, and the aliens will die without the Tiberium radiation it gives them_. _Take out the Node, that'll stop the alien units, stop the invasion._"

Rex nodded, "Ten-Four, we'll take care of it."

"_Rex, you're being Resupplied while we can, expect Drop Pods to be shot down to the Relay Node area when you arrive_! _Be careful, this is their main base, we'll try to get you reinforcements, but we have to knock out the other towe-_" Granger said, before the transmission cut.

Rex sighed. "Ladies, Gentlemen. We have a choice now, it seems. We can go after the Relay Node, which is probably going to be defended with everything they have, or we can take out the other Tower, shutting off more of these Wormholes, but it won't be as defended and likely cut off all alien reinforcements."

"**Back-Up Transmissions Engaged, Text Only."** EVA reported.

Text read across the screen,

"_Commander, you are to go directly for the Relay Node. Destroy it with any means necessary, take it out, and the towers shouldn't matter. McNeil will split his forces to deal with the tower in the Mediterranean as well as the African towers. General Renteria reports that she has Eastern Europe covered for Tower clean up."_

There was also an attached file…

"Open it." Rex said. A video appeared…

XXXX

**One Day Earlier…**

**GDI Base,**

**Berne, Switzerland.**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Sarah walked up onto the simple platform set up behind the barracks, suited in her dress uniform, consisting of a simple cut uniform similar to normal GDI officers, except with ZOCOM Raider shoulder guards, sized down to a more acceptable level. As usual, off-duty soldiers were watching, sitting in the orderly rows; GDI preferred to allow those who were not occupied to be able to observe such ceremonies, as they explain _why_ someone would get the promotion. It was tradition that started around the Second Tiberium War, after some questions of command ability that were legitimate. She saluted General McNeil, who returned it, before taking something off of the podium.

"Lieutenant Sarah D. Granger," McNeil began, "For your heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty, with the authorization given to me by General Renteria, and the vouches of your character by Commander Adams, ZOCOM 3rd Battalion, Lieutenant Park of ZOCOM's 3rd Battalion, I am honored to bestow the Medal of Honor to you." McNeil picked the medal out of its case, and, after a customary moment, pinned it in its place on the uniform. He then whispered to her, "You're father will be proud… he is proud."

She smiled lightly. She then noticed something else on the podium… and GDI tradition meant that only the medals or ribbons meant for those receiving it at the time are to be there, just to avoid cases of wondering who's getting it… McNeil walked over, and picked up what looked to be some sort of rank chevron…

"General Renteria also reports that you've proven your capability of command. Thusly, she has _trusted_ you with the rank of Captain, so you may step up to the responsibilities you can handle. Congratulations, _Captain_ Granger."

In the distance, someone shouted, "Damn Rex is lucky!" The person who shouted it was quickly silenced… but laughter began to penetrate through the crowd as they caught on. Because Captains were within the officer class and, nominally, able to use GDI Battle Control to command their operations, they could marry without breaking regulations, pending all other regulations were met, by sheer virtue that they technically weren't combat soldiers anymore. Sarah blushed as she caught the meaning. McNeil, in true GDI fashion, removed the Lieutenant rank chevron from her shoulder guard before adding the Captain chevron. He put a hand on her shoulder, smiled, and whispered to her, "There's a transport heading for the _GDS Liberator_, I've left orders in your transmitter. Rex needs reinforcement… you're bringing it."

Sarah saluted, McNeil returned it, and Sarah left the podium.

XXXX

**1 Day Later… Present**

**GDI Forward Assault Base**

**Rome, Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

Rex blinked as he realized what was shown to him.

"'Bout time!" Park said, smiling as the video ended, "She's been pulling people out of hell itself in those Red Zones since she was a private fresh from cadet school. If she doesn't outdoor her father by his age, then that means she's been damn modest."

McCarthy grinned, "And she's now in the officer ranks… or the 'official' officer ranks… Rex, you have no idea how lucky you are."

"Why do I get the feeling," Rex gave a theatrical sigh, "that this was all set up?"

Ahsoka gave a feral, yet good natured, grin, and said, "We take our comedy where we can get it."

"I'm sure…" Rex muttered, a slight look of worry beginning to cross his face. "Alright, if we're done discussing our superior officers' love lives, can we get back to business?"

"Right, we're going to be resupplied at Ground Zero," Ahsoka began, pulling up the holomap in the center of the table, "Then take out…" she paled, or what Rex had always thought was a pale, "Three major bases combined into one, belonging to mainline Scrin, Reaper-17, _AND_ Traveler-59… all three packing Eradicator Hexapods and… some sort of ultra-heavy ship we can't identify…"

A red blip appeared, "And a Black Hand base… lead by none other than our dear friend Ironside himself… I hope Kane told him he's gonna die today…" Ahsoka shook her head, disbelieving at the insane odds, but angry at Ironside.

Rex cocked his pistol as a hologram of Ironside appeared. Rex shot it through the head, but a bolt was not sent as Rex did not load it. Ahsoka didn't look shocked at all, in fact, the look on her face suggested she had some very _dark_ ideas on what to do to him..._ When I get my hands on him,_ Rex thought darkly, _I am going to make him suffer for what he did to Ahsoka… forcing her to give herself up by holding _**civilians**_ at gun point… no, at Tiberium chemical weapon point. He's dead and he knows it… he just doesn't know how agonizing it'll be._

XXXX

**Nod Field Outpost**

**Kings' Canyon, Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ajay shook his head, _This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_. He shook it again, sighing, "I dunno... maybe Kilian was right..." his voice was dry, throaty and came out like he had cried for hours, which he hadn't, as he looked at the orders and the reports of what occurred in that theatre of battle; "Maybe Kane _has_ lost it." He turned, pulling his leg off of the desk and looking at the Insurgent, who was watching, surprised, from her Red Zone base near the tower.

"You know what he wants you to do now?" Ajay asked, "Wipe out _all_ the troops in the Red Zone, we're talking GDI, Forgotten, hell, even Nod if they even remotely endanger that _God damn tower!"_ He put a finger up for each faction as he cited them, then began to pace, "I don't get it, sacrificing _our own soldiers_ to save these stinking 'Visitors'." _This was exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_

_No;_ Ajay finally thought, admitting that when he joined Nod, his intentions may have been good, to fight for the only real source of aide to the Yellow Zones as GDI suffered bureaucratic stuffing, but now, he knew what he wanted, _That was _not_ what I wanted, not at all..._ He saw the Insurgent staring at him, wide-eyed at his heresy.

"_I didn't sign up for this_," he said coldly, simply, determined; he sighed.

"_Ajay, what are you saying?_" The Insurgent finally asked.

"Look, I hope it works out for you Commander, but I have to tell you: _I do not envy you anymore._"

_"Ajay, you'll be killed the moment you step out of that tent. Don't be an idiot._"

"I know that," Ajay answered, grabbing his assault rifle and a backpack he pre-prepared, "But I can't in good faith fight for a _madman_ who's throwing lives away to protect the things that have been _**butchering**_ us just for trying to stay out of the way."

_"Ajay... don't do this. You're distraught from the hardships; don't give into the despair, you'll just make it worse for yourself._"

"No commander;" Ajay responded, "I won't. You want to know why I'm leaving?" _This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_

_"You've made it painfully clear; Ajay, you're needed still; if you leave now, more will die. Is that what you want?"_

"They'll die regardless," Ajay stated sadly, "There isn't _anything_ I could do, you know that. It's _you're_ leadership that will save or cost lives. I'm sorry." He holstered his pistol, slipped his old tech inhibitor into its chest strap, and left. _Been a while since I've been on a field mission,_ he decided, _and now I'm on the ultimate field mission for my life..._ He felt empty, but he knew it was the right decision... _Or was it? Maybe she's right..._

_This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_ The words came back, as haunting as the last time, and he shook his head as militants around their campfires told stories, detailing their exploits, which somehow now seemed hollow to Ajay... he left the camp unhindered thanks to his rank. As he walked past, he heard something behind a large rock; cocking his assault rifle and turning around, aiming...

And one of the Black Hand Disciples assigned to his post, Sister Teresa Krystal. She wasn't wearing her helmet, but she did have the typical flamethrower. "Where are you going, Agent?" she asked.

"Extended mission," Ajay lied, "Commander sent me directly."

"That's unusual," Teresa said, walking towards him, "Most agents of your prestige don't embark on missions like that; and as the Insurgent's very own Intelligence officer, you have a very high position indeed." Somehow, it sounded like she was speaking from experience, but Ajay couldn't understand why it sounded like that...

"Sometimes you have to do it for the good of the Brotherhood;" but the words stuck in his throat, to him, at least, but Teresa didn't seem fazed.

"Drop the charade, Agent," Teresa said, suddenly stern, "You're deserting. Don't think your crisis of faith wasn't noticed. You should of spoken to a Confessor, not wallowed in the tent where you could destroy more of the Brotherhood's lies."

"Drop it yourself, you know what we're being ordered to do."

"And I follow orders." She revved the flamethrower, and Ajay knew from seeing it through battlefield surveillance what it could do. He opened fire, his assault rifle rounds slamming into her arms and chest, causing her to stagger in surprise. He fired again, aiming at her kneecaps, causing her to stagger and collapse backwards as he threw in a few shots to the chest again. He took several more shots to the chest, the rifle pushing against him as the recoil had an effect and the gun's trademark loud noise echoed. He kicked the flamethrower's handle and nozzle away, then ripped it open so the napalm fluids on the back-mounted storage wouldn't detonate. Teresa ejected the fuel tanks and threw herself up, bringing her fist to Ajay's chest and knocking him backwards, sending the assault rifle spinning away. He pulled out his pistol and fired, aiming for the armor's vulnerable joints, then got out of the way and pushed himself up, running. He turned and fired another leg shot, and Teresa collapsed again, or started to, as Ajay rushed up and grabbed her collar, then head butted her and threw her to the ground. He aimed his pistol at her face while standing to the side, to ensure she wouldn't have an easy reach at him.

"Do you understand why I left? Because the Brotherhood _lies_. It uses people. We recruit so many to 'fight tyranny', yet we do little to stop our own. You just proved it because you tried to stop me."

"You deserted..."

"You think for a second that I could say, 'Hey, I'm having reservations about what we're doing and the sanity of our biblical leader who we all think is the Messiah' and live? _Nod. Lies._ We give food and supplies to the Yellow Zones, yes, but we do it to turn people into tools..."

"As does GDI."

"Maybe. But there's good people on both sides; people who just want to make the world a better place for the families. People who want to earn enough so their family can survive. People who just want to _do something_ for the world. In Nod... and in GDI. Neither group is all good, but both have corruption. But that's humanity, it happens, and we just have to take care of it ourselves. And that's why I'm leaving, because Nod refuses to clean up its own refuse. It demonizes GDI over the smallest thing, yet we expect no one to bat an eyelash when we use our brutal area of effect weaponry in urban combat. Is that right, 'Sister'?"

"You've lost your way, _heretic_. Is this going exactly how you wanted your path to be?"

Ajay paused; "Yes. It is. Go back to the camp, this is my personal choice. I'm not going to kill you over it." With that, he turned, moving to pick up the assault rifle. Teresa suddenly jumped at him one last time...

And he whirled around, pulling the tech inhibitor from its chest mounted strap and hurling it at Teresa, catching her and causing her armor's servo systems to short out even further, causing her to land face flat to the dirt. Ajay walked up and picked the inhibitor off, it's charge spent. "I'm not going to kill you. But think about what just happened. And what Kane's having our people do for him." With that, he left.

_This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?_

_No, it isn't; but I'm willing to find my own path._

Somehow, that idea seemed to relieve the anxiety and guilt he felt over having Kilian executed... it did not remove the pain, but it helped him understand it. He picked the assault rifle up, took one last look at Teresa, struggling to move in the heavy armor which had passed its last legs, vulnerable and unable to move. Ajay shouldered the rifle, letting it hang casually on its strap, and walked off into the dark Australian night.

XXXX

**Revised Author's Notes: Perspective marks and changes added; little perspective from Ghostalker, and generally tidied it up again. Next chapter may be a while due to the fact I want to considerably revamp the entire Ground Zero battle and I now have school starting, limiting my time to write. Funny; it's been a year since I started the fanfiction series, and now I'm still interested in it, still working on it.**

**Added Ajay's defection to the end as a nice capper off; that, and I wanted to give Ajay a moment to shine and show **_**how**_** he escaped Nod. That, and I thought him giving a 'what the hell, Nod?' speech would be fitting. He sums up the more scary side of the C&C universe; GDI and Nod have good people in them; the question is the leaders, more often than not. Feels less gratifying to mow down hordes of militants now; well, it wasn't much of a brag anyways, but you get the idea.**

**Season 3 for Star Wars: The Clone Wars is coming on September 17th, only approximately 15 days as of revision; can't damn well wait for it. If you thought season 2 was awesome; well, by all indications, season 3 is going to blow it out of the god damn water like a Liquid T-Bomb going off in the Death Star. (and about the same explosion size, now that I think about... no, wait, not true. But there's still no Endor holocaust!)**


	16. Chapter 16: Act on Instinct

_... Indigenous population aligned into two major factions. _

_... These factions continued combat operations between them even as they were threatened with extinction by our initial attack. _

_... Indigenous population warlike to the extreme - once Threshold construction is complete and gateway is open, entire indigenous population must be cleansed from the surface of the planet._

_... Deployment of [Armageddon] may be necessary. Indigenous population powerful on the ground, especially the Cult of the Steel Talons._

_... Supposed aid from an Incarnation recorded, as well as the presence of a figure known only as 'Kane' offers substantiated explanation of Indigenous population military powers and ability to resist. Thoughts of how much damage could be done in the long run if not curtailed now is not statistically favorable._

_... Cannot fathom Indigenous survival within Ichor areas; Indigenous specimens taken to Ichor Hub for study._

_... Foremen have a bad feeling about this._

- Scrin transmission in regards to humanity's surprising strength against the Scrin Mining Fleet's forces, summed up by GDI Commando Fullerton as, "_WTF the earthlings are hacking"_

_**We are going to have to **_**act**_**, if we want to live in a different world.**_

- EVA in the GDI First Tiberium War recruitment video.

X

**Chapter 16: Act on Instinct**

**Near Ground Zero**

**Tiber River, Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

Sarah looked around at the landing site. An MCV sent by McNeil had arrived, but Rex was still out with his main force, which was delayed by a Scrin patrol of Tripods and Tanks. She was now responsible for the base until Rex arrived with the main force to end the battle. She looked at the task force she had… _Not good… one Mammoth Tank, eight Raiders, not counting myself, fifty Riflemen, twenty Missile Troopers, several snipers, a Talon combat engineering team, four Zone Shatterers, two Slingshots, five Predator Tanks, and not enough SPAM for a full base… least we don't have to win this whole battle ourselves._

The MCV deployed a pair of cranes to assist in construction, speeding it up considerably as the cranes moved SPAM craters to their assembly points much quicker than having a pair of engineers run out with it or a truck. Before construction however, the Shatterers blew Tiberium out of the way. They didn't have the modules for concrete for the base ground, so they had to use older methods. A sonic fence was erected around the base… a thin defense militarily, but it would keep the Tiberium in the base itself to a minimal. Four Power Plants were put up, then a pair of barracks; a refinery, a ZOCOM armory, and a war factory, giving them the basics they needed to maintain their gear… and, if needed, cobble together vehicular support, pending they had people to crew them. It wasn't much, but for their mission, it would have to do.

A squad of Scorpion tanks from the Black Hand base in the north rolled down and opened fire on the Mammoth Tank, which responded with its dual 175 millimeter guns, blasting the Scorpions apart two-shots-one-kill. Missiles and rifle rounds flew, and the Scorpions were taken out… but it was only the first wave.

From the North West, a squadron of Seeker tanks came in. The Predators rolled up and began to trade salvos, quickly obliterating the Seekers as their heavier cannons punched through the light armor.

"**Rift Generator Detected!"** EVA warned. Sarah pulled up her tactical map, plugged into her helmet, and ducked behind a rock formation. The Rift Generator was fortunately close… just across an isthmus over the Tiberium glacier chasm…

"**Lieutenant,"** EVA reported, **"If the Rift Generator is captured, the rift protecting the Relay Node will be removed. However, it is also preparing to open a rift on our base. You have ten minutes until it fires."**

"Great…" Sarah muttered, "Raiders, Mammoth Tank, form up, we need to get the Talon engineers into the Rift Generator!"

"Roger that, Captain!" one of the Raiders responded, and the eight Raiders, along with the Mammoth, moved towards the isthmus. Sarah wondered a moment… _This is going to be a toughie… should I join them, and hope the base can hold, or coordinate it all from here?_ She knew it was her responsibility to deal with the whole battle until Rex arrived, but she also was tough enough to be able to engage the enemy… _I think I should fight with them… I'll leave my Lieutenant in charge here… he can handle this._ An APC rolled out of the war factory and the engineers, one driving, got in.

She joined the strike squad heading to the Rift Generator. The first Raider that saw her saluted, "Captain Granger! We're ready to go. The Talon engineering team has an APC ready to speed in and get the Rift Generator rewired."

"Understood, let's go."

They rushed forward, crossing the isthmus quickly. They found an alien Extractor, their equivalent to a human refinery, and a harvester. The Mammoth Tank blew the harvester apart like it was an afterthought. Sarah and the Raiders took point, blasting a few squads of Disintegrators out of the way, while the Mammoth destroyed a defending Buzzer hive before its Buzzers flew out, twin missiles speeding to the alien structure and blasting large holes into it, which the dual 175 millimeter guns finished off. The APC rushed forward to the Rift Generator as the Mammoth Tank rolled up next to it, laying down cover fire at any aliens that tried to respond, a few sparse Disintegrator squads and occasionally a buzzer swarm… most of the aliens seemed to be engaging something else, fortunately. _They must be duking it out with Nod._ Sarah decided. The Engineers rushed into the Rift Generator, and suddenly, the rift protecting the Relay Node cut.

"_The Rift Generator is ours!... not that we'll be able to use it_." Reported an Engineer over the radio, "_It's ridiculously too advanced for us to try… we're going to set some C4 on the thing and blow it up_."

"Affirmative, we'll cover you." Sarah responded.

"_Should only take a minute_!"

A minute later and no Scrin reinforcements, the Engineers rushed back out and into the APC, and the group began to drive back to the base. The Rift Generator exploded as the C4 went off.

"**Rift Generator Disabled… the Ion Cannon however, cannot fire, due to a mysterious Ion Storm disrupting space-to-planet targeting. Disable the storm, and the Ion Cannon can fire."**

"Affirmative EVA…" Sarah said, "Though I think we'll have to wait for support for this… there's a lotta aliens…"

They reached the small ZOCOM outpost, which was more full now since the MCV crew had been busy setting up what would be necessary for what very well could of been a long-drawn battle, a battle where GDI would _need_ the facilities an MCV could deploy to maintain their equipment.

"Oh we've pissed them off now…" another Zone Raider muttered, "I got a scan on some… _holy crap!_"

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"Something EVA can only identify as a 'Mothership' is coming in!"

"**Warning: Mothership Detected!"**

"Someone rehost; err, boot, EVA, she's lagging…" Sarah muttered… as she looked at the Black Hand base in the north… it suddenly vanished.

"What the hell?" Sarah cursed, "The Black Hand base just disappeared! They don't use stealth for God's sake… they hate that crap!"

"That Mothership is heading towards us…" a Raider warned. "Should we retreat? EVA's scans report that we won't last two seconds once it gets to our base… Apparently, it was what the aliens used to blast that crater in Berne!"

"We can't abandon this position," Sarah responded as they stood by the base's front gate. "We have to delay it somehow until the Commander arrives… if we can't; the battle will be that much harder for GDI..."

"Nod and the Invaders sure are having a fight up north," reported a GDI spotter, "I think the Mothership is for knocking out them, not us. Still, with the base gone..." he left the implication in the air.

"The aliens must think Nod left suddenly…" Sarah suddenly had a light bulb go off in her head. "Predator Tanks form up. We're heading north. Mammoth Tank, stand by at the base and keep any Invaders clear of it. Raiders, with me."

The five Predator tanks and eight Zone Raiders formed up with her, and they began to head up the right hill to the right-most disruption tower. As they approached, a trio of Scorpion Tanks appeared, firing, but their aim was high, and they missed. Opening fire, the Predators quickly took them out with two salvos while the Raiders hit the third with sonic grenades, the rocket-propelled projectiles blowing holes as big as Sarah and then some into the tank's side, thanks in part to the repeated hits.

They then destroyed the first disruption tower… as a flame tank came down… with the Black Hand's purifying flame. _Shit!_ Sarah thought, knowing full well what the blue flames would be capable of doing to anyone, even _with_ powered armor on; "Raiders, back, Predators, fire on that thing!" But the Predator tanks were already blasting it apart, the tank exploding after a half dozen tank shells hit it. Before it could incinerate the Raiders, it started blowing up and melting nearby Nod soldiers, Black Hand Disciples, to blue goo, screaming as they melted into azure-flaming blobs as more flamethrowers were set to explode by the flames. Suppressing a shiver, Sarah gave signals, and they moved to the next tower.

They headed to the west, taking out a trio of Raider buggies guarding the tower, a gunshot wound officially hitting one of the ZOCOM soldiers, fortunately caught by her powered armor. The lack of opposition meant that Nod was still focused on fighting the aliens over a plateau. They took out the second disruption tower easily with a few tank shells and a few sonic grenades.

"Let's high-tail it!" Sarah shouted as a large number of Nod militants began to bear down on them from the now de-cloaked base. The Predator Tanks reverse moved back to the base, while the Raiders launched an occasional sonic grenade over to keep the militants down. These militants were in old Nod combat armor… and lead by a Confessor Cabal, the militants seeming to of been infused with Tiberium and the Confessors in upgraded armor granting them immunity to Tiberium radiation… a sick green miasma cloud clung to the militant hordes like flies to a corpse.

"Come on and fight, cowardly infidels!" one of the Confessors shouted.

Sarah skidded to a halt, aimed at the Confessor, and shot a grenade at him, blasting him dead away, and he landed hard, his neck snapping. She then caught up with the others using her Jump Jets.

"Nice shot, Captain. That'll shut them up for a second." commented a Raider.

"Thanks, now, let's pray this works…"

XXXX

**Scrin Mothership **_**Ichor Glory**_

"_Finally,_" the Supervisor said, "_Uploading data information to central datacore..."_

Foreman 371 watched as the figure identified as "Kane", spoke; "_Now, according to the Tacitus, a Liquid Tiberium explosion would alert the Visitors' scout ships; either naturally occurring, through the World Altering Missile and it's terraforming of the planet to a Tiberium paradise and eventually occurring at Ground Zero, or with a bomb created... but all my experiments with Liquid-T failed to produce a necessary blast yield"_.

He puzzled over that, wondering what he meant by... then he realized it; _He purposely created an Ichor LQ detonation! This is _much_ more than we're capable of fighting, we need a real military force here, not just harvest security, or we're _fucked_!_

_"This being already exists in the datacore!" _the Supervisor said, surprised, "_Genetic derivations unknown... Overlord will want more investigation!"_

Suddenly, the warp link AI chimed in, "_**Threshold Assembly under attack. Arrival of increased retaliation forces expected. Mission failure imminent. Foreman, completion of at least one Threshold assembly is now highest priority. Ceasing secondary operations immediately."**_

The Supervisor let a groan of irritation out, then shouted, "_Reformat your ship, Foreman! Insubordination is _unacceptable!_"_

_**"Without a completed Threshold, Foreman cannot return to Ichor Hub for Ichor Infusion."**_

_"THIS ENTIRE HARVESTING OPERATION IS EXPENDABLE! OVERLORD __**ORDERS**__ MORE INFORMAITON ON KANE!"_

Suddenly the link was lost and the words "Communication Failure" read on the screen; _Oh__** shit**__,_ he thought, _I am going to be killed for this..._

_**"Order; Dismissed."**_ the Warp Link AI said, he swore he heard a tone of satisfaction... then he decided, _Well, fuck, I might as well try and get one Tower assembled; it's my life damn it, I've been slugging it out, Supervisor hasn't. Tower assembly might save my skin..._

**"**_**The completion of a Threshold Tower and the constructing of a Signal Transmitter is your only hope for survival, Foreman. First Priority: Complete Threshold Assembly."**_

_Here goes nothing..._ he thought as he plugged into the battle interface deep in the human Mediterranean Sea... or what was left of it.

XXXX

**Ground Zero**

**Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

The Mothership's glacially slow flight speed finally brought it to the point where it could choose to fight GDI… or Nod.

Sarah looked at it… surprised how… small it seemed. It was a simple ring with what looked to be something akin to a head inside of it… all connected by an energy beam… _And to think that thing can take a horrendous beating and still fly, yet also destroy a city with one shot…_

It seemed an eternity for it to make its choice… Stormriders kept Nod Raider Buggies from taking it out… Her heart began to pound as it took it's time making up its mind...

_Oh God… please don't let it turn to us…_ Sarah thought as it began to rotate…

XXXXX

**Scrin Base**

Foreman 211 cursed again as his advanced group against the black-clad humans was destroyed. _This is crazy, they're not fighting us with everything they have and they're still knocking us out!_

"Foreman," said his superior officer, the head of the 59th sect of the Cult of the Traveler, "You must occupy the armies while we handle the situation."

"Yes, Traveler," he responded, "We will avoid interfering and tie up the enemy army."

"Good. Be ready to move the Hexapods into position, those will gain Her attention."

XXXXX

**Nod Construction Yard**

**Ground Zero, Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

Brother-Commander Ironside looked over the battlefield, frowning; he was ordered to cause as much chaos in the region as possible to GDI forces, but the _second_ he arrived, alien units were assaulting his position. He sighed, ordering more units to hold the line as his forces prepared to deploy a defensive outpost that would nullify the alien offensive.

**"Caution: Our base is vulnerable to the Visitor Mothership."**

"What the crap..." he looked south of his position... the Mothership was floating there, as if deciding which way to turn. _Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!_

XXXXX

**GDI Base**

And the Mothership began to fly north.

"It… _it worked!_ The… the Mothership is turning around! Oh thank God for that…" one of the soldiers shouted, relived.

Sarah took a deep breath, the fear of certain death beginning to leave. Her heart was still pounding from the fear.

"_This is Lieutenant Tano to _Captain_ Granger, sorry we're late, we got some Air support for you_."

"Ahsoka?" Sarah asked, surprised as Firehawks flew in and bombed a huge group of Scrin Disintegrator infantry rushing at the base, "How'd you get here so soon, Rex is still ten minutes out!" She shut up the minute she recalled the data file Rex had sent her at Berne. _Right… 'Jedi' can run really, really, fast._

"_I persuaded him to let me get over here ASAP since you go_t here early."

Ahsoka suddenly landed next to Sarah, who aimed at her for a brief moment, ready to shoot her in the face with a sonic grenade, before realizing she would be shooting a junior GDI officer.

A squadron of Firehawks returned to the base and entered a low-altitude holding pattern… the Ion Storms began to rage in focus over the Relay Node… leaving GDI free to deploy its air force in any location besides the Relay Node.

Ahsoka pulled a beacon out, "We can call in for some extra supplies, just clear a drop zone for it."

Sarah nodded, and then sent orders via helmet EVA to the ConYard operator. A space was cleared just behind the ConYard, next to the cranes, and a sonic fence went up. Ahsoka leapt over it, placed the beacon, and leapt out.

From space, a Drop Pod came speeding down to earth, and decelerated, and landed gently. It opened, revealing several crates. GDI technicians began to pull them out of the way, and once empty, sent the Drop Pod back into orbit with its auxiliary engines. _Thank God that Kane never took out our Orbital Resupply Station… it's the only thing that lets us get supplies around. Shame we can't send armor or troops down save experienced Zone infantry, it'd really touch up our rapid-response._ She knew there was a good reason, of course; there were issues with GDI's Second Tiberium War era drop pods, mostly in getting the soldiers back, but also fatalities from the sudden deceleration, deemed to be not worth the losses until the system was better.

"_Ma'am, with the Tiberium that we're getting and this orbital resupply, I think we can start deploying the base in full and assemble SPAM modules_." Reported her ConYard operator… _His name's… oh what was it again… never met him before now…_

"Roger that Lieutenant Conrad." Sarah responded. "Set up some landing pads for the Firehawks would you? Then set up and deploy all we need to maintain a full GDI assault force."

A minute later, four landing pads were set up, and the Firehawks landed. An Ox transport, looking weathered and as if it had pushed it as fast as it could, also came in and landed, leaving an air crew to rearm the aircraft. The construction yard began to build other things, such as a GDI Tech Center to maintain advanced equipment.

XXXX

**Nod Base**

"Someone shoot the damn ship!" Ironside shouted, "Chase it off!"

"_Sir, these Visitor bastards are ripping our Venom apart if we try to get close! They've already wiped out our southern defenses. They're firing a lower grade of attack from that giant _thing_!"_

"Then get them back into operation ASAP! We need them to give GDI hell!"

XXXX

To the north, the Mothership was causing havoc in the Nod base, blasting much of it to smithereens… finally; it turned around, leaving most of the Nod base unable to be a direct threat…

"That Mothership is heading for us now!" shouted a GDI spotter.

"Firehawks, on my signal, take it out with Rattlesnakes." Sarah ordered.

"_Affirmative, Ma'am_." Captain Horn reported, "_We're rearming now_."

The Mothership's glacially slow speed gave GDI time… and Nod. Nod was using Raider Buggies and Attack Bikes to harass the Mothership… and got shot by the Stormriders.

The Mothership reached half-way… and the Firehawks took off, flying towards it.

"_We have a lock… FIRE_!" Captain Horn ordered.

32 Missiles later, the Mothership exploded, wreckage of it flying in all directions, and the Firehawks turned around, entirely out of ammo. One of them blazed into fire as the Stormriders chasing it nailed the engine intake, the Firehawk skidding across the ground. The pilot survived however, and popped the canopy open. Two GDI soldiers helped him back into the base as the modular War Factory used some of the Tiberium being refined on-site to build a replacement Firehawk.

"**Warning: Temple of Nod detected!"** EVA warned.

_Crap… Nod's bringing out Nukes!_ Sarah thought after she heard it… an image of a nuke landing on her flashing through her mind for a second before she pushed that thought way. "Spotter, what's the Nod temple looking like?"

"_Obelisks of Light, four of 'em, and a squadron of Mantis AA drones… the Invaders are also pounding on the defenses_."

"Would a squadron of Firehawks be able to bomb the Temple and high tail it before getting shot down?"

"_I think so… it's chancy_, _but ask the flyboys, that's their area_."

"Captain Horn… your opinion?"

"_Slot us with ZOCOM's ceramic armor and we'll be set." _Horn responded_. "We brought an experimental higher yield of bomb, so don't worry about having enough to plaster the Temple_."

"Understood. Conrad, have the ConYard start working on Ceramic armor and get it installed ASAP."

"**Nuclear Missile will launch in Ten Minutes."** EVA warned.

"Get to it…" Sarah said, turning her attention towards a large mess of Nod forces charging down the hill at them… Ahsoka lit her lightsaber, intercepting bullets, the likely Tiberium-derived lead rounds being instantly vaporized, which protected some GDI soldiers from Nod while GDI Watchtowers and Riflemen began ripping them apart. Sarah fired another sonic grenade over, the projectile detonating and sending a militant flying away while stunning his comrades. It did not help at all that they were wearing Tiberium-resistant Kevlar or something to that effect that had some form of Tiberium composite in it. _Just like us,_ she mused briefly.

XXXX

**GDI Secured Bunker**

**Reykjavik, Iceland**

**Blue Zone B-15**

"General Granger is a fool," Boyle said at last, looking at the footage from the Battle of Ground Zero. "That battle cannot be won as GDI often does with battles, with tanks and soldiers, even the Ion Cannon, if it could work."

"Yes sir… I don't know how he makes such foolish decisions… or his daughter, for that matter." A guard clad in GDI composite armor responded. "It's a shame such a proud line has come to its end…"

"Yes… the line of that famous Allied commander in the Second Great World War, the one who ended the Soviet Union…" Boyle said, 'disappointed'. "Still, we cannot allow General Granger to endanger the world's security… tell me," the door opened, and, handcuffed, Dr. Sydney Mobius was escorted in by two brutish looking GDI soldiers, true examples of all brawn, no brains. "How goes the… project?"

She spat at him, "It's done, you _dirty coward,_ and I hope you rot in Hell for what you've forced us to build."

"Please, my dear," Boyle said, "GDI has failed you often in its old form… or do you forget Nick 'Havoc' Parker's failures to rescue you and your father _repeatedly_?"

"He actually had balls, unlike you."

Boyle sighed, "Take her to lock up and make sure that she can't get any messages out… I have an important call to make."

XXXX

**En Route to Ground Zero**

**Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

"Sir!" Stevenson shouted, "High priority message from Reykjavik."

Rex grunted, looking up from the tactical map, "Fine, put it through." He turned to the screen… and Redmond Boyle appeared on it.

_"Commander…"_ Boyle said, looking fearful, "_There is something you need to know… General Granger is withholding vital intelligence from you, intelligence that could _save your life_!_" Boyle looked around, shifty, as if trying to make sure there are no spies. "_Under my guidance, GDI WeaponsTech used the materials we confiscated from Temple Prime to build a Liquid Tiberium Bomb, which I've taken the liberty of granting your EVA the ability to call on it! Now, Granger. He'd rather have you try and gut out a victory against impossible odds, _WHY_?_" He gained the air of certainty, "_Because I'm a political _threat_ to him! If my plan wins this war, he's irrelevant! That's how the media will see him! But you… they'll see you as a hero, IF, you end this war quickly! This isn't about me, or Granger, Commander_! _This is about _you_!_ This is your time_!_ _Make your __**mark**__ on_ **history**_**!**_"

Boyle paused… "_I know you don't like me, and I can understand why… the tragedy of Nod's Liquid Tiberium bomb was too great to count… but GDI has learned, and this Liquid Tiberium bomb will have limited detonation range… it will _not_ create such a cataclysmic explosion or chain reaction_…"

"Care to explain why you _court marshaled_ Li- Captain Granger for practically nothing?" Rex responded.

"_The court marshal, Commander, was because she_ disobeyed direct orders! _She was going to take a large portion of our forces away from where they were needed for who knows what reason! You are a _career_ military man; you understand the value of orders, the chain of command, all of it! I cannot maintain this transmission much longer without _them _finding out… Do the right thing, Commander. That's all I can ask._"

The transmission cut… Rex looked at the screen… shocked. He pulled up the charts again… he saw it: Impossible odds… GDI was outnumbered a hundred to one… Nod and Scrin forces were busy fighting each other, but they also had the GDI forward base being heavily pressured… he saw, courtesy of SkySentry, all three Eradicator Hexapods destroy the Redeemer easily… if GDI was going to pull out a victory, it was going to take a lot more than an army...

_Get a grip on yourself, Rex. Boyle is a politician... even if he outranks you in the chain of command._

_XXXXXXX_

**Ground Zero**

**Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

Ahsoka deflected another barrage of plasma discs away from a GDI soldier… the invaders were stepping up the counter attack. Several discs flew into riflemen holding the line in sandbag foxholes, collapsing the foxhole onto them and crushing the life out of them.

"**Nuclear Missile will launch in One Minute. Destroy the Temple of Nod ASAP!"** EVA warned, unusually frantic.

"_Firehawks clear for run_!" Conrad, Sarah's ConYard operator, shouted. The eight Firehawks streaked across the battlefield and bombed the Temple of Nod as a nuclear missile prepared to fire… the nuke exploded as the Firehawks bombs hit, the Firehawks themselves flying clear as fast as their engines allowed them.

"Reinforcements! Reinforcements!" shouted a Zone Trooper, "Reinforcements have arrived!".

And sure enough, Rex's task force had arrived, it's air units speeding over and bombing the incoming waves of enemy forces, stalling the advance with heavy sonic and Hellcat bombs. A massive force, cobbled together from both reinforcements McNeil spared from his tower hunting to recently trained troops had come. The forces ranged from the might Mammoth Tanks, powerful Titans, boxy Wolverines, Slingshots, Zone Troopers and Raiders, plenty of courageous Infantry, heavy pounding Behemoths, steadfast Predator Tanks, Pitbulls, several squadrons worth of Orcas with ZOCOM sonic grenades, APC's both repair and regular… a force with all but GDI's most formidable: The MARV. The Firehawks, finishing their run of flaming _death_ upon the enemy, came back to the base and landed to be rearmed and refueled from the journey. It was an awe inspiring moment as the tertiary explosions of the bombing run, the detonation of various flamethrowers and explosives used by the enemy, raged across, granting relief to the GDI forces.

Ahsoka, inhaling as she shut her lightsaber down for a moment, glanced back behind the barricade, Rex and Sarah had met up, and, safe behind the forward base's sonic fence had their helmets off. Ahsoka quickly went over as a feeling came over her, that she needed to be there. Walking next to them, she borrowed Sarah's binoculars and looked towards the distant battle between Nod and the Scrin...

In the far distance, the three Hexapods in the distance screamed, Nod forced back into their base… and the Scrin turned towards GDI in full force, the Hexapods making the long trek back to the Scrin base…

XXXX

Rex was about to say what he had been meaning to tell Sarah for a while now almost let a swear loose from his mouth as his helmet's radio beeped;

"_Commander! Urgent transmission from General Granger_!" Stevenson reported over the radio.

Rex nodded. "Sent it to my EVA unit."

"_Yes sir_!"

Rex then fiddled with his helmet… "No good;" Rex said, as his wrist EVA failed, "Send it to Sarah's." A few seconds later on Sarah's wrist EVA unit, General Granger appeared.

"_Commander… I just found out about Boyle's plan…"_ he snorted, "_Can't say I'm surprised_…"

The Eradicators arrived at the alien's main base… Rex didn't have much time to respond to them… _Come on General; time's wasting,_ he thought.

"_But, as bad as things are on the battlefield, I need you to _**resist** _using that _Liquid Tiberium Bomb_!__ It may end the war quickly… but Rex… a blast that size in the world's largest Red Zone could create a _**cataclysmic chain reaction**_**!**_" Granger paused… "_Here's the other thing… you use that bomb… and you set in a trend. GDI will become dependent on Tiberium weapons, on _Tiberium itself, _and _that _is not who we are. That is _**NOT**_ GDI. We fight with honor, to rid the world of Tiberium's plague_."

Then however, the transmission was cut off, and Boyle appeared.

"_Let me tell you who we are… We are the ones; the public has entrusted to_ protect them_!_ _We have a _responsibility _to uphold that trust_! _Yes, there_ will _be __**risks**__, yes there __**will**__ be_ casualties_,_ _but this is_ **war** _against an enemy Mankind has never_ **SEEN**! _If you don't do_ everything _in your power, if you don't use_ **every** _weapon available to you… then you are failing_ **every man, woman, and child, **_on this __**PLANET**_**!** _Do the right thing, Commander… that's all I can ask_."

Granger and Boyle, now both equal on the screen, looked at Rex. And EVA gave him the words he did not want to hear.

"**Commander, the Liquid Tiberium Bomb is now available to deploy. You are ordered to deploy it as soon as possible."** said Rex's EVA unit with a beep as the new order was awaiting confirmation...

Rex paled… automatically, the soldier part of his brain, trained and honed since birth, was whirring to get the order done, sending orders to the rest of his body… Granger tensed, looking at him intensely, the gaze punching through the EVA link and looking into him... his hand was moved by the instinct over, but his heart stepped in before he actually pressed it.

"Rex… don't do it." Ahsoka said, "Boyle doesn't _care_ for anyone but himself! I know the first rule of war is to follow your superior officers… well, General Granger is your superior officer, Boyle is just a politician playing outside his ring."

_"Lieutenant, please, you know the chain of command!"_ Boyle counterpointed, _"You have your orders; do the right thing, stop this war before even more lives are lost, before even more families are sundered, before more fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, daughters and sons, are taken from their loved ones! Every second the war continues, more people lose their _lives! _Are you that casual with them?"_

Granger snarled, _"Rex, if you use that bomb, the casualties he claims will be prevented _will happen_, and it will be by your hand that it's done. Can you throw away your honor, can you repeat the same mistake again? Are you willing to repeat a mistake that's done more damage than GDI has ever done to the world, the people we're to _protect?_ I'm damn surprised that people outside of Nod aren't calling us the Global _Destruction_ Initiative after that disaster at Sarajevo, do you want to _confirm_ that yes, we don't care about the people we protect?"_

Rex paused, his hand over the button… the automatic soldier part of his brain was pounding at him to do it… but his heart was resisting. _Don't do it, don't make the same mistake you made with Sarajevo!_

_Orders are Orders, do it, and suck up the consequences like the man you are,_ countered the soldier side of his brain.

_"Commander, time is of the essence! Who knows what horrors are coming to strike; if you don't end the war now, we may never win! All our efforts may very well be fruitless! Everything your men have sacrificed will be wasted!"_ Boyle implored.

Ahsoka watched him intently as the counterpoint struck Rex raw; memories of the Clone Wars, how his brothers had been consistently shot, burned, blown apart, and many more horrid deaths with horrifying callousness as they fought a war they had no choice in fighting... his eyes met Ahsoka's, her crystal blue eyes looking right through him... and his memory flashed back to the Republic's contingency orders, literally programmed into his brain, a single number, 66, and a horrid feeling welling up in him as he looked back at Ahsoka...

_How can you call yourself a man if you ignore the tough orders you're given, huh?_ Rex's brain was pounding him… _Order 66 was put there; you never executed it because it was never ordered. And if it was ordered, you'd of shot her dead. Do it, or are you a _coward!

Rex's hand edged towards the button… _No... Order 66 was just a backup..._ he felt intense heat building as he remembered what he was bred to do originally; to fight for a Republic that he only knew about from duty and flash programming, not growing up as a child, making the choice to fight... _CC-7567..._

XXXX

McCarthy rose out of cover and riddled another enemy Disintegrator with rifle rounds before ducking back down to reload his now-empty rifle; _Damn, what's going on?_ he wondered as he saw Rex, Sarah, and Ahsoka talking with the General via EVA...

"Watch out! Cultists!" shouted a soldier, "Mind controlled Noddies incoming!"

Swearing, he looked out of cover; a number of Cultists were sneaking up, using mind controlled Nod militant squads as meat shields. The militants dropped under GDI fire and took sniper rounds for the Cultists, but McCarthy saw several Cultists drop down...

Suddenly a group of soldiers in a nearby squad shouted, grabbing their heads... _Fuck, fuck, FUCK!_ McCarthy thought, rushing over, "Knock 'em down, hit those Cultists damn it!" Barreling into a GDI soldier of the mind controlled squad, he pinned him to the ground; the soldier kicked him in the back, knocking him forward and his faceplate met the ground. They struggled, punching and kicking to keep the other from tackling as other GDI soldiers did the same to those falling under mind control; but some were too slow...

XXXX

Foreman 221 let a malicious laugh leave his mandibles at the human's confusion. He ordered the Hexapods to be fully restored before marching on the human base in the south; the Cultists gave him that confusion.

XXXX

Rex couldn't make up his mind; his smart soldier side was pushing for it, while his heart was screaming at him to resist... his men were taking enemy attacks and falling; he had to resolve this _NOW._

_Is it honorable to risk thousands, if not millions of civilians, _innocent civilians_, for victory?_ asked his heart...

_It is cowardly to move away from hard choices; they must be made!_ responded his gut, soldier instinct.

"Is it cowardly," Ahsoka snarled, "to stand up for what you believe in?"

_To stand up..._ Rex's soldier side whispered... then the two sides seemed to agree briefly before orders came crashing back on the other side.

_To stand up for what I believe in..._ Rex let the phrase play in his head.

Rex pulled his hand away, the automatic soldier part of his brain screaming in agony…

Rex looked around… he saw GDI soldiers fighting on the front, taking bullets and disintegration beams to the chest as Nod and the Scrin began the advance… _If you want them to die,_ the smart soldier part of his brain said, _then don't fire the bomb! If you could shoot her in the back at the order of some political big-wig, then certainly you can fire a bomb in the line of duty, to obliterate both enemies and end the war _now_._

He glanced at Ahsoka; then he wasn't at Ground Zero anymore...

XX

Circumstances seemed to change; he was alongside his brothers again, the 501st Legion, fighting against the Separatists, the battle droids coming up to be destroyed by Clone blaster fire... Ripping through them with his dual pistols, punching a B1 that got close at the neck joint and kicking the remains away, the hydraulic fluids splattering on his white armor... the battlefield was indistinct, seeming to be a cross of every world he had fought on. Grunting as a blaster bolt singed his leg, he shot the offending B2 SBD repeatedly until it dropped. "Forward!" he ordered as they pushed up to their next way point, using squad tactics to take advantage of the plentiful cover as they stemmed the murderous droids. Suddenly, he heard words spoken by a voice he never recognized:

_"Execute Order Sixty Six..."_

_"As... you..."_ the word stuck in his throat; knowing what it was... _"Wish..."_

He spotted Ahsoka ahead, deflecting rounds away from the Clones, protecting them... _How... how can I shoot her in the back? She's protecting us from hell out there..._

Suddenly, blue blaster fire rang out... he couldn't tell if it was his or not... but blue fire raged to do vile, cowardly murder... dishonoring the uniform... _CC-7567..._ his number... and he heard a distinct thud, and a pained gasp of surprise...

XX

"NO!" Rex snarled, the image burning through his mind, the cold blooded murder he was 'programmed' to do if necessary by the _karking_ Kaminoan cloners who didn't give _jack shit_ about him or his brothers... he would not be a simple _number_; the Jedi gave the Clones names, made them actual _people_, not just organic droids; he owed them that much, just as he owed GDI's real leadership not to betray them just because some political backstabbing that made it a technicality to dishonor his honor and the honor of every soldier who died fighting against Nod, the Scrin, everything that threatened the innocent. Savagely ripping his wrist EVA off and shooting it repeatedly with one of his pistols. "I will _NOT_ take the easy way out, Boyle!" he shouted, mostly to himself, but it got the point across as the EVA unit exploded in a shower of sparks as the blue bolts blasted into it, destroying it and causing the metal to melt.

XXXX

**GDI Reinforced Bunker**

**Reykjavik, Iceland**

**Blue Zone B-15**

Boyle sighed as his connection of Rex's EVA was cut in a flash of blinding blue. Granger, from his screen, gave him a look, and said, "He made the right decision, _Director._" Then the image cut.

"Private Carson." Boyle said… "Secure the base, just in case." _Rex better not survive… or he will be my undoing…_

"Yes sir."

"And have the bomb launched remotely, make it official file as Rex having fired it... on General Granger's orders. Nod and these aliens must be eradicated, it is our only hope. If they cannot do what must be done, then _we will_."

XXXX

**GDI Battle Control**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Granger breathed a deep sigh of relief as Rex's wrist EVA cut and he cut off Boyle... but he knew that the relief would not last long. _He made the right choice… But he's heavily outnumbered… those Hexapods will destroy him, even if they aren't of the same caliber as the one fought in Berne._ Glancing away from the difficult but critical task of ensuring all GDI operations were going as planned, he spoke up;

"Get me Generals Mitchell and Renteria." he ordered, and Sandra, who was manning communications, nodded. The images of the two generals appeared; Renteria from a MARV bridge, while Mitchell was clearly in a Mammoth Tank.

"_Mitchell here, General, what's the word_?"

"_General Renteria, loud and clear_."

"I need you to send Rex the authorization to deploy a MARV, one from the Steel Talons, and one from ZOCOM, I'm sending him permission to deploy one right now from mainline GDI, and the schematics."

"_Agreed_," Renteria said, "_I've seen the footage, he needs it. He's got the people to crew three MARVs if he ditches his other tanks; the result will be worth it though_."

"_You two send him MARV schematics_," Mitchell said, "_I'm sending him the prototype schematics for a next-generation Mammoth Mark II. I don't care what the GDI council said before Boyle, the Mark II is _still _our best weapon on land, and if they set up all the regulation buildings for a field base, they'll have the raw ability to at least get it in the field._"

"Let's hope Rex can use it then… God help us all." Granger turned his attention back to the battle, ordering a squadron of Orcas to strafe a pair Scrin Tiberium Extractors and their Harvesters, which were left unguarded, hoping to slow down reinforcements. _Odd, the Scrin seem to base their reinforcements on Tiberium collection... that is militarily unsound_. The Orcas flew in, dodging discs that flew up from teleporting Shock Troopers, and they pulled out, the enemy complex ruined and more of the enemy income obliterated and in the red, and thus summoning of reinforcements delayed.

He looked to the nearby screen; all the towers save for four were still intact; the one his men were assaulting in Texas, the one Renteria was blasting apart in Eastern Europe, the one Mitchell was obliterating in Peru, and the one in the Mediterranean, under siege by McNeil, yet Nod forces were holding them back... _Can't worry about that now..._ He glanced, then commed Riggs;

"Commander Riggs, have your forces escape Australia?"

"_Yes sir_." Wesley Riggs answered from the transport he was on.

"Do you think you can get down to the Mediterranean?"

"_On my way; we'll be there by dusk. Tell General McNeil not to wait for us, sir_."

XXX

**Iquitos, Peru**

**Red Zone R-6**

Mitchell watched from over miles away, using a rangefinder, as the Ion Cannon obliterated the Tower, built upon ancient Inca ruins, and sighed; he felt a pride rising up; those he trained, led, and asked beyond the call for were living up to what they had to do and beyond. He glanced at the monitor, pulling up the Ground Zero battle... he spotted Rex's signature, and sighed. _Go on Rex,_ he thought, _This is your chance to make things right..._ then he verbally added, "I'm proud of you." A single tear of pride slipped down his cheek as he realized how much Rex had meant to him; a son he had never had. He almost laughed, for it seemed so unusual that a grown man like Rex, cloned with formerly accelerated aging or not, needed one.

Then he realized that he could not say if a clone would need one or not, for he did not share their perspective.

XXX

**Midwest USA**

**Red Zone R-7**

Havoc smiled as he watched through his binoculars, enjoying the image of the Tower exploding; his men had moved far, far away from the now obliterated Scrin base, and the Ion Cannon had fired. _Some storm..._ he thought, glad that they were able to get out of range. His EVA unit beeped; and he turned it on.

To his surprise, Sydney Mobius was there, looking much, much older, almost like her father, since he had last seen her almost fifty years ago. She was looking desperate.

"_Havoc_!" Sydney whispered loudly, "_Boyle's gone mad... he's holding me in Reykjavik... he forced me to build a Liquid Tiberium Bomb! He's going to force Commander Rex to use it at Ground Zero; Havoc, you have to stop him... I put in a timed-delay on it so that if Boyle tries to launch it it'll be delayed, but you have to get here and disable the lab! Here's the coordinates..._" A coordinate appeared on the screen, when suddenly, on her end, there were shouts, she rose, punching a GDI soldier into next week and into the wall and preventing a second from ever having children with a groin attack before a third one hit her with a taser, knocking her to the ground, then the video link cut into static with a grey-composite fist. But he had the coordinates...

He glanced over; Granger might need him down in Texas... _No, this is too serious to wait._ He glanced over; there was a Firehawk nearby... and he assumed his All-Vehicular certification was still good... (_Fancy term for a universal driver's license,_ he had commented all those years ago during the First Tiberium War) .

He ran over, "Sorry Flight-Officer," Havoc said as he rushed to a Firehawk, "Have to commandeer this,"

"What the crap?" shouted the pilot, "You know who I work for? I report to the Director himself dam-"

"Yeah, Boyle's lackey, aren't you?" Havoc responded as he lifted the canopy open; the pilot pulled a pistol and took a shot; the round bounced off of Havoc's armor, and he picked the pilot up, dumping him out and sliding into the Firehawk. Activating the systems, noting it was filled with a load out of Rattlesnake Missiles, he took off, and entered a flight plan to the Stratosphere... he was going to come down near Reykjavik and land in the base itself. He glanced at his pistol, Eva, and gave a grim smile as he engaged the Stratospheric boosters, pinned into his seat by the G-force.

XXXX

**Ground Zero**

**Italy**

**Red Zone R-1**

Ahsoka could feel the tension easing from Rex, but adrenaline was pumping through. _He made the right choice;_ she thought, glancing over; _But now we have to _act_ on it._

"Rex…" Sarah said, her helmet in her hand, she was about to put it back on and head outside the sonic fence keeping Tiberium out of the GDI base. The fighting had gotten much closer now, GDI barely holding on as recently deployed defenses tried to hold back the attack, even with the mind control disabled. Titans and Predator Tanks traded salvos with Scrin and Nod tanks alike. The battle was edged, just barely, in GDI's favor, but they were still being pushed back. Ahsoka looked, trying to figure out where she could do the most to help GDI win the battle; even with support, they were far outnumbered.

From her peripheral vision, Ahsoka saw Rex and Sarah looked at each other a moment…. And then they kissed.

"UGH!" Ahsoka shouted as she turned, surprised and jolted out of trying to figure out where she could help, "Can you two save it for _after_ the war?"

They ignored her… Ahsoka turned towards McCarthy, who leapt into cover to reload, "Can you get them to break it up?"

McCarthy glanced at them… "Nah… let them, last kiss in case, ya'know… this is going to be ugly… so hey, what better time to get the kissing in than before you get shot to hell?" He grunted as he ducked behind his piece of cover, then sent a spray of bullets at the offending Shock Trooper.

_Now I know why Jedi forbid attachment…_ Ahsoka decided as she leapt out of cover, deflecting a Plasma disc away from the two kissers and leaping over, McCarthy behind her. Deflecting enemy discs back as McCarthy opened fire, the two pushed up, regrouping McCarthy with his unit, and retaking the minor crack in their frontline. Ahsoka stood on the front, on a small sandbag set on their makeshift trenches, deflecting rounds back. Orcas made flybys, dropping rockets, sonic and fragmentation, while Firehawks engaged the Scrin and Nod aircraft with Rattlesnake missiles.

XXXX

Fullerton, even though he wasn't fully healed, was in the battle and shooting, engaging the Nod units alongside Ghostalker and his Forgotten warriors. _They're damn good, even if they aren't proper troopers,_ Fullerton thought, admiring the Forgotten for their tenacity and skill despite a technological disadvantage. Ghostalker fired his rail gun, hitting a Scorpion Tank and causing it to explode as the fuel and ammunition was detonated. Fullerton matched by jump jetting towards a Black Hand Purifier, a self-admittedly suicidal move by most standards, grappling onto the non-flamethrower side, slapping a C4 charge in the neck, then with his jump jets recycled, launched back and detonated the Purifier before he was roasted alive.

"Impressive," Ghostalker said as he landed, "But there is more trouble ahead."

"No kidding," Fullerton answered as he checked his carbine, then reloaded the empty gun.

XXXX

A GDI Reclamator Hub deployed nearby, and began to build something within. Several Titans and Predators rolled into the base, the crews getting out and rushing inside the Hub's back door.

"Firehawks!" Ahsoka shouted into her wrist EVA unit, "Make a run on the Hexapods, slow them down! Behemoths, blast the legs! Coordinates are Verona-Delta-Seven!"

A Drone Ship landed on the isthmus, and suddenly, several new alien defenses teleported in. The Behemoths opened fire, targeting the defenses, for they were teleported in the line of fire. The Hexapods formed up behind it… ready to go. _Thank the Force these stanging things aren't like the ones in Berne,_ Ahsoka thought as the Firehawks, unable to reach the Hexapods, bombed the drone ship instead and pulled out before the plasma anti-air discs slammed into them, obliterating the forward position. Two Firehawks sailed out of the sky in flames, however, as discs managed to catch their impossible-to-armor engine outtakes.

XXXX

"**MARV** assembly complete!" reported someone… and sure enough, a MARV with GDI logos rolled out of the Reclaimator Hub. Several Missile Troopers and an engineer rushed inside, activating its four Hardpoint defenses, leaving three additional missile launchers, and a self-repair module. The massive tank with a triple gun barrel in a triangle rolled up, and opened fire on the Scrin and Nod forces in range, sending them flying into the sky impossibly high as they were blown away by the oversized sonic shells, the emptying shell bouncing off the side of the tank as large as a Wolverine's magazine; and only Zone Infantry dared stand near the MARV.

The Hexapods began to advance… Rex pulled out his DC-15 and lent his own fire into the barrage that GDI was created, aiming at the Hexapods, trying to down them before they got into range… but all they could do was try to suppress the incoming infantry.

XXXX

McCarthy opened fire with his GD-2, empting clip after clip as the Scrin Disintegrators just kept coming to attack the infantry, occasionally with Shock Troopers or a Buzzer swarm filtered in; _Goddamn Scrin, you guys have a fucking factory stamping out these goddamn zerglings?_ he asked himself as he directed a grenadier squad to throw into the enemy mass in a pattern, to try and suppress the enemy squads as they advanced, but that did little. Titans and Predators traded salvos with the enemy Seekers and Shard Walkers, keeping the infantry to fight the infantry with some Wolverines trying to rip through the alien ranks, green blood-like liquid splattering across the entire battlefield. Sniper rounds rang out, plastering Buzzer swarms before they could get close to the infantry, but there were enough to keep them from helping with the Shock Troopers...

Three teleported into their miniature fort of sandbags and large rocks, and McCarthy didn't think; he rushed up and stepped on the leader's face, then shoot the center with a full clip. The other two Shock Troopers were occupied with the other soldiers, Jenkins and Harris taking hits from the first plasma disc and burning to death while the other soldiers opened fire, the armored carapace of the Shock Troopers holding.

Then he heard a hum and a grenade suddenly plastered the back of a Shock Trooper, causing it to stagger; McCarthy filled it's head with rounds and looked up; a Zone Raider, Park, had hit the Scrin soldier from behind, allowing the others to fill the remaining Trooper with rounds, killing it. A soldier, carrying a heavy backpack and two brief-case like objects in each hand, ran up, and said, "Fresh clips!"

McCarthy grabbed several; he was down to his last one, with only half of his current clip left, roughly.

XXXX

"**Mammoth Mark II,** ready to march!" A Mammoth Mark II, or rather, and upgraded version of the walker with modern specifications, armor plating, and gyro-stabilization systems, came out of the Hub, with the Steel Talon's insignia stamped on the side. The massive walker with its quad Rail Guns, dual Auto-cannons, and dual SAM missile sites, would be more than capable of engaging any of the Hexapods one on one. The two-story walker marched out, to the cheers of GDI veterans, especially those of the Second Tiberium War, and it's quad Rail Guns blasted what the MARV had missed into dust and rubble.

The first Hexapod came into range, but so did the MARV and Mammoth Mark II. The quad Rail Guns dealt immense damage, leaving smoking holes the size of Wolverines in the Hexapod. The MARV's sonic shells, although massive, did not deal so much damage to the Hexapod itself, but it blasted the infantry supporting it far away, often into each other and creating chaos. Aliens exploded as the sonic waves claimed them.

XXXXX

"**MARV** assembly complete!" A second MARV, with ZOCOM's symbol, an eagle transforming into a phoenix and holding two lightning bolts with its claws, stamped on the side. Several Raiders rushed in, as well as another engineer, adding three additional sonic grenade launchers, and a self-repair module. The new MARV joined the Mark II and the other MARV. The other two Hexapods came into range…

"FORWARD!" Rex shouted, standing out of cover and beckoning GDI forward. Mammoth Tanks, Predator Tanks, Shatterers, Titans, Wolverines, Infantry, APCs, Zone Troopers, Zone Raiders, and Pitbulls alike rushed forward, while Behemoths and Juggernauts began to shell the Scrin as they advanced. Sonic Emitters deployed laced forth with their sonic assault, while the Forgotten lead by Ghostalker and recently arrived, went north, and began to engage the Brotherhood of Nod forces.

XXXX

Ghostalker reloaded as he blasted an entire line of easily fifty Nod militants with a single shot from his rail gun, the red beam left behind by the sheer energy and radiation of his rail gun simply blowing, literally, through them. A Nod Black Hand soldier, although deprived of his flamethrower, managed to survive a hailstorm of Forgotten fire, mostly older GDI M-16 mark II Pulse Rifles, and rushed up and knocked Ghostalker's rail gun away, and punched him in a face before he was able to respond, knocking him backwards.

Rebounding, he threw himself into the enemy soldier, and punched him in the face plate, his mutant abilities, evolving in the form of even more resistance and physical strength than even the typical Forgotten, allowed him to _damage_ the suit, a feat often calling for heavy anti-infantry weapons and focused fire to do. The soldier took it in stride, shouting, "_Kane, grant me the strength to slay this heathen!"_ as he tried to kick Ghostalker off, but Ghostalker simply ripped the soldiers faceplate off and snapped his neck.

"Impressive," said a woman's voice, and he rolled to the left as a laser nearly hit him in the chest, rolling and grabbing his rail gun, reloading as he finished his roll and aiming at the woman, taking the shot, but the Black Hand Commando dodged the round, which 'harmlessly' hit an Avatar war-mech's leg, causing it to stagger and almost collapse, and then several Forgotten Disc Thrower teams finished it off with several hits from their old, but still dangerous discs. Ghostalker dodged the Commando's lasers, leaping out of cover and behind the wreckage of a Tick Tank that the Forgotten had salvaged for use in warfare, he reloaded and took another shot, the bolt missing but burning the enemy Commando's chest as she dodged. She then sprinted forward, knocking the rail gun away, but Ghostalker responded by disconnecting her dual pistols and punching her in the face, breaking her jaw, but that had no effect as she retaliated by striking his groin.

XXXX

Rex emptied his dual pistols into the Disintegrators trying to break through the lines, but GDI forces were using cover, combined arms, and squad tactics too effectively for them to break through. _I almost wish they didn't decay in the Red Zones..._ Rex mused, knowing that the huge number of Scrin bodies would be perfect for clogging the isthmus the Scrin were advancing by. Titans traded volleys with the Scrin Seekers and Gun Walkers, with Mammoths providing even heavier support. Artillery thundered overhead, the heavy shells speeding into the Scrin lines.

XXXXX

GDI and Scrin then clashed in earnest as both side's infantry met in the center, brutal and fierce melee combat coming out as GDI began using every trick it had. They were outnumbered, outgunned, but they had something that was more important than either numbers, or weaponry: Courage. The Scrin forces, driven on by automatically imprinted indoctrination, proved to be incapable of matching the courage of GDI forces, who began to prove, yet again, that where there's a will, there's a way. Fighting for their homes, the GDI soldiers used everything they had, revealing how deadly GDI soldiers could be in close combat. In a one on one fight, a GDI soldier proved a few notches to a Scrin soldier. But in formation, the GDI soldiers quickly gained the upper hand with well trained tactics and gut instincts, combining talents in various ways, a rocket to distract followed by grenades, rifle fire hailstorms covering a squad's advance to an exposed flank… everything in the GDI arsenal. Firehawks dueled Stormriders in the sky; Riflemen engaged Shock Troopers and Ravagers at point blank range, many giving their lives just trying to punch through. Predator Tanks slugged it out with Gun Walkers, Titans blasting Seekers apart. Mammoth Tanks dueled with Tripods, and Behemoths blasted all they could target with their powerful artillery cannons.

Zone Troopers rained down onto fortified positions, with Zone Raiders behind them, clearing out the positions with power armored fists and advanced weaponry, punching holes for GDI's lesser infantry to use. The three Commandos that had wound up with the force, Fullerton, Warren, and Lesley were shooting hell storms through the incoming hordes and leaving nothing but dead Scrin around them. Snipers blasted apart Scrin Cultists at range, keeping them from getting close enough for mind control, and grenades sailed into the enemy lines beyond the GDI soldiers, but sometimes danger close as they advanced.

XXXXX

"Feels like old times, huh Max?" asked the Mammoth Mark II's gunner, "Just like goin' after CABAL's core!"

"Indeed," Captain Maximilian C. Burke, veteran of the Firestorm Crisis, responded, "Now then, target the center Hexapod, maximum firepower!"

The Mammoth aimed, and suddenly all four rail guns, it's whole current load of rockets, and it's chin-mounted chain gun fired on the central Hexapod, the rounds blasting craters and knocking two of the legs off the Hexapod with tremendous purple explosions erupting from the Hexapod

The Mammoth Mark II blasted the head of the center Hexapod, bearing the symbol of the Scrin military, and it exploded as it collapsed. The other two MARVs focused fire on the one with Travler-59's symbols, and the Mark II turned to begin blowing the Reaper Hexapod apart; a volley from it hit the Mammoth, causing a brief blackout of the lights as the Mark II's systems compensated and auto-repair functions initiated.

"Damage?" he ordered to the sensor officer.

"Frontal armor holding, no damage, but we can't take much of that."

"Understood."

XXXXX

Rex shouted as he was blown back twenty feet by a barrage of plasma discs from the Reaper-17 Hexapod. He struggled, and pulled himself behind cover, reaching for his medkit, pulling out the painkiller and injecting it into a joint near his shoulder; it stung as the needle was put where it wasn't supposed to go, but _damn_ he felt the pain and needed it to shut up long enough for him to fight the battle. He threw the needle to the ground, grunting as the painkiller took effect.

XXX

Burke smiled as he saw the Reaper Hexapod take damage, a leg coming off as what he assumed to be an internal explosion ripped it off after a volley from the Mammoth Mark II; "It's imbalanced! Target the head of the left Hexapod! Full volley!"

"Adjusting... reloading... FIRE!"

XX

Ahsoka rushed forward, leaping onto the Reaper-17 Hexapod. A Sonic shell detonated below, causing her to lose her balance, but she recovered and rushed to a leg. She began to cut through it with her lightsaber, severing the legs one by one and causing it to collapse. The Mammoth Mark II blasted the head with four concentrated shots, the sheer kinetic force of the explosion blew Ahsoka over fifty meters away, causing her to crash into the Tiberium glacier to the southern end of the isthmus, cracking the glacier as she hit and felt a number of bones crack in her back, intense pain shooting through her whole body as it tried to react, like a base filled with inexperienced soldiers caught in their underpants during a Nod mind-screw based attack with everything used to its full potential, with the commander being unable to juggle more than one area of the fight at a time tactically.

_That karking idiot..._ she thought as she realized who had nearly killed, if not slowly sent her to death, before blanking out.

XXXX

Rex watched as the final Hexapod exploded spectacularly as it took the final hits; it collapsed on what legs it had left, the face hitting the ground, desperately trying to push itself up not unlike a wounded Tiberium Fiend, emitting an almost pitiful howl as it tried to recover. Then the MARVs and Mammoth Mark II aimed at it, and in unison, fired a total of six sonic shells, ten missiles, twelve sonic grenades, four rail gun grounds, and the cherry-tapping rounds of the chain gun, and as the rounds hit in quick succession, the Hexapod exploded completely, blowing itself into shrapnel and killing all the nearby Scrin units, clearing the isthmus of the Scrin briefly as they worked to regroup... The tide was now going to turn as the final reinforcements arrived for GDI. Firehawks dueled in the skies...

XXXX

Ghostalker, reeling from the low blow of the enemy commando, blocked several more unarmed strikes from the Nod commando as they fought next to his unloaded rail gun. She gained the edge on him, briefly, pinning him down, but he rose his foot to hit her ass, knocking her over him and into a small bunker's wall. Rising with a turn, he brought his leg to ensure she was tripped. He rushed, letting his weight slam into her and crush her against the bunker's wall, he heard several bones snap. She tried to respond, but Ghostalker was already grabbing her head with his left hand; and he bashed her skull against the wall with all the force he could. The Nod Commando ceased to live, stuff splattering everywhere.

_What a mess,_ Ghostalker thought briefly as he wiped some of the gore from his face and quickly recovered his rail gun, looking at the bloody gore and horrific mess as it rapidly decayed in the Tiberium radiation in the air.

XXXX

Captain Horn dived down, chasing a pair of enemy Stormriders and fired his second missile, striking the left Stormrider, which had been damaged by an earlier missile hit, and it exploded, sailing into the Tiberium glacier below and exploding. The wing mate tried to lose him, but he followed close, and fired two more Rattlesnakes, which hounded it despite the weaving of the Stormrider and hit, exploding spectacularly as the Stormrider's fuel exploded.

XXXXX

Rex ducked as he reloaded his dual pistols and rose, shooting a squad of Disintegrators down before having to duck again as incoming disintegration beams came in.

"_Commander_," Ghostalker radioed to Rex, "_I will need assistance from you to fully defeat the Brotherhood forces here._"

"Understood, Captains, keep the charge against the Invaders going! I'm going to help Ghostalker and the Forgotten. Carnivore Battalion, with me!" _We need to knock off a front,_ Rex decided, knowing that if GDI and Forgotten forces could focus everything on the Scrin, they'd be able to use the sheer firepower they could bring to bear to even greater effects, possibly enough to win the battle. _This whole mission's a desperate long shot; let's make it count._

"_Carnivore Battalion, redeploying commander_!"

"_Yes sir_!" Sarah shouted, beckoning the GDI forces forward against the Scrin. She jump jetted over, landing on the front, and joined the melee battle ensuing as the Scrin broke into GDI's cover, Rex saw her picking up a Disintegrator by the leg and hurling it into the enemy masses as McCarthy was right behind her, fighting like a commando who missed the call with his GD-2 rifle, bashing a Shock Trooper's head in then filling it with holes.

XXXXX

Ahsoka groaned as she turned her head. She had landed on her back in the crater... she felt her spine, bruised, roar in resistance as she tried to move.

"And fortune has favored us…" she heard someone say. She opened her eyes… standing in front of her were two Scrin she recognized from working with the captured Warp Link…

The one to the left looked feminine… barely. She sported long, ritualistic cuts that glowed green with Tiberium, in her hands were two tubes… they ignited, revealing them to be green bladed lightsabers… or some variation thereof.

The other, masculine one looked like the weaker of the two… and younger, but, he was clearly cunning. He also pulled a lightsaber out, and didn't look like a slouch with it as the

The heads resembled a bald human with faintly glowing skin, of a molted gray color. The mouths however, had four tentacles, a proper mouth concealed behind them. She could sense from both of them considerable power… _Oh frack…_ Ahsoka thought… _They're Force-Sensitive and know it…_

"And so we meet face to face, Ahsoka Tano." Said the male, his voice clearly in possession of power, but it was perfect basic. "I am Traveler-59, youngest of the Cult of the Traveler."

"And I," the female said, "Am Reaper-17, newest of the Cult of the Reaper."

"It is time to surrender," Traveler-57 said, igniting a single green lightsaber. "It is clear that you are… unaware of whom you truly are. Let me… educate you."

Before Ahsoka could respond, a powerful mental lance broke through any defense she could muster… but instead of controlling her, it seemed to simply be showing her something…

She realized quickly she was getting a forced history lesson… the first Scrin, appearing much similar to the two she engaged… each one seeming having different purpose… but only one of them was feminine at that point…

_The Mother… the Traveler, the Reaper… The Defender… the Overseer… and a Black Dawn…_

A voice, belonging to Travler-59, began to echo in her head…

_As we began, we found ourselves… weak. We knew we were a superior race… our home was a simple cave at the time… with a green crystal... Ichor. It gave us survival… however… we were not numerous… the Defender kept us safe… but he was not enough… eventually, despite our clan growing slowly…_

The images of more Scrin began to fill, the original group becoming older…

_But at long last… we could not win, we began to be wiped out as hunters of the other races began to demolish us, fearing our supremacy… we almost faced extinction… but, at the end… the Mother gave one last gift, before departing…_

And then, she saw it: The mainline Scrin infantry, Disintegrators. The image of the 'Mother' faded as the Disintegrators grew… and quickly, the Scrin became a solidly in control group, using Tiberium to power their abilities…_They're almost like Jedi… no, Sith…_ Ahsoka thought.

_Three generations after, we found The Tacitus, containing the knowledge of all of them, The Mother, the Traveler, the Reaper, the Defender, and the Overseer. We learned how our species could continue to evolve… the Mother had one defense that could allow our survival… but, we could not grow without being tested…_

The image of the 'Mother' appeared again… but she began to shift into forms countless, but all bearing feminine traits… and showing the ability to manipulate Tiberium.

_To gain new powers, new forces to fight… we had to find them, and bring them before the Mother's alter… and insert Her power into them directly…_

One by one, various forms were brought forth and… held. They all were clearly very powerful, more so than any average Jedi Ahsoka had seen in the past… Ahsoka could sense it… almost as powerful as Yoda was… They then had a single crystal, of an orange color, looking like a variation of Tiberium, was then surgically added to the hearts of each one. Then the captives faded from view… and a Scrin combat unit came in its place… their Assimilator engineers, Shock Troopers… even their vehicles, like the Gun Walker or the Seeker tank.

_As we returned the incarnations of the Mother to the Mother herself, we gained power. The Cult of the Reaper, Traveler, Defender, Overseer, and, of course, The Mother, began to form. A caste system where duties were clear… we adapted many of The Mother's creations to new circumstances… The Cult of the Reaper was most often doing such, though with Cultists and Prodigies, the Cult of the Traveler has shown its ability to do so as well. We began to spread Ichor, to weaken the lesser races and reduce them to sport or labor and grant us room to expand… But when time comes to an end… the Scrin shall take up the mantle, and rule the entire universe, as it is rightfully ours!_

Dots began to connect as more images; many of them seeming irrelevant flowed into her mind…. _Stang! _Ahsoka thought, shocked, _those cruel… murderers! Any Force-sensitive woman who's not Scrin got captured and forced to… oh I don't want to think about it… that's just…_ she couldn't think of how to describe how despicable it was.

Anger began to build within her…_ Their arsenal comes to an end today… They will not enslave anyone else when I'm done with them… even if it's the last thing I do…_

Ahsoka began absorbing the power from the Tiberium glacier… recovering fully and nigh-instantly (if not completely correct)… she then launched all the lightning she could muster from what she had absorbed, sending a massive blast of it at the two Scrin. Reaper-17 held up her hand, and absorbed the lightning and redirecting it away harmlessly, while Traveler-59 simply blocked it, sending it away. Ahsoka lit her lightsaber, and, with a yell, rushed forward, her intent to kill them clear. Reaper-17 locked Ahsoka's lightsaber, and they began to duel fiercely as Travler-59 held back, shoving Ahsoka around with lances of mental assault. But Ahsoka did not react to pain, even as she a lightsaber cut along her thigh and chest, light wounds, but still there. She kept fighting, absorbing the Tiberium from the glacier as needed, either to heal her wounds, or to unleash lightning or powerful Force pushes at the two Scrin.

Ahsoka then leapt up and clear, leading the two away from GDI… they began to duel throughout, the battle equal as they began to dance the dance of death across the battlefield.

As they fought through the Scrin base, the two Scrin leaders shouted orders for the common grunts to stay out of it. Ahsoka liberally unleashed every attack she knew, simple cuts, advanced whirlwinds of attacks, lightning, everything, often causing more damage to the surrounding Scrin scrambling to the battle GDI than to her opponents. All three combatants were clearly pushing themselves to the limit… and the two Scrin began to take the upper hand. Ahsoka parried several more blows, then took off, rushing towards the Relay Node, the two Scrin in hot pursuit.

_I can't stop them alone…_ Ahsoka decided, _but the Ion Cannon can…_

"Rex, come in!" she shouted into her EVA unit, but she received only static. She parried several blows and got a slash to the side of Reaper-17's chest, but it did not get through all the way.

"Captain Granger!" Ahsoka shouted into her wrist EVA, linking to Sarah's radio channel, "I'm going to a clear shot for the Ion Cannon, have them use my EVA unit's signature for the coor"- Ahsoka stopped, whirling around to parry a brutal assault from Reaper-17 in retaliation.

"_What the hell are you do_"- Sarah was cut off as Reaper-17 slashed Ahsoka's wrist EVA in half, Ahsoka letting loose a brief shout of pain as her wrist was lightly cut, but not deep enough to affect her ability to use it.

The River Tiber, now dried up, was visible, blue Tiberium littered on its riverbed. The three combatants quickly reached the cliff, where the Relay Node, like the skull of a dead bull, sat, protected by Ion Storms that remained dormant in lightning… and did not attempt to vaporize Ahsoka.

XXXXX

"Lay down suppressive fire; don't let those Buzzers close!" Sarah shouted as she gave up trying to hail Ahsoka. GDI was pushing forward, but taking casualties. Firing a grenade over and getting lucky with a direct hit on a Buzzer swarm, she readied the next shot as she moved to cover. _This is going to be a close one… we'll need the Forgotten's help if we're to break through with enough firepower to knock out the Node…_

The efforts of the two MARVs and the Mammoth Mark II were clear, and the Scrin began to balk, despite reinforcements pouring out in extreme. The MARVs were damaged, their on-board Tiberium refineries blown to scrap… not that they were really going to be much help. Sarah grunted in pain as a plasma disc slammed into her chest, knocking her head and feet forward as she was blasted back into rock. GDI's advance continued bloodily, the dead decaying rapidly, like swarms of little bugs eating dead flesh, but without the bugs. That was how it appeared as Tiberium absorbed what was left of their bodies, assimilating what was left of them into Tiberium and causing its growth to continue with fresh nutrients from the dead body... and waste, which it could use anyways, it seemed.

_I honestly hope that when I finally die,_ Sarah decided as she rejoined the charge, _I don't get dusted by Tiberium… don't want to unintentionally contribute to what I fight, after all._

At long last, they reached the riverbed, the vicious duel Ahsoka and the two weird-looking Scrin were in visible on the cliff. As the mainline Scrin continued to try and blunt the assault with everything they had, she heard a beeping as she spotted a trio of Scrin Planetary Assault Carriers move into position to deploy their squadrons of fighters.

"**Supersonic Airstrike Inbound, stand by."**

Suddenly, diving down from the atmosphere, a pair of triangle shaped fighters appeared, and a super-sonic explosion blasted across the battlefield… the three Planetary Assault Carriers lost altitude, cracking open and apart, and crashed on the ground.

"Whooohooo! Take that you alien motherfuckers!" shouted Fullerton as he passed, a squad behind him as they took their next waypoint in the advance, an old building that could still serve as some cover. McCarthy's squad was nearby, advancing to the same location.

Reaching it, she threw her back onto the wall, then turned, taking a shot and reloading; she heard the grenade hit and knock away a Scrin Shock Trooper. McCarthy and his squad was laying down fire with their rifles as the commando and his borrowed squad laid down fire from the upper floors.

X

As GDI began to advance up the cliff to the Scrin base, using the many large rocks as somewhat useful cover, using smaller squad tactics to their advantage as they tried to secure the crater that was Ground Zero.

Scrin units kept coming out of the portal mindlessly, even as the Mammoth Mark II blasted one of the Warp Spheres into radioactive rubble with its quad rail guns, they kept coming.

Sarah looked towards the crater, and realized Ahsoka would need help; "Fullerton, I'm going to help the Commander;" she said, "Get a squad over there so we can keep the Scrin from swarming her."

"Got it!" Fullerton said, gesturing to the squad, "Give the lady help."

XXXX

McCarthy watched as Captain Granger broke formation, a squad of riflemen behind her who engaged the Disintegrators from cover as Fullerton laid down ever more fire; he didn't know why, but he had to follow orders and knock out the enemy base. "Let's go; time's wasting!" His squad sprinted forward, shooting as they advanced up the hill to the Scrin base, Mammoth Tanks rolling up next to them, Titans behind them as they engaged the Scrin's comparatively weak armor. A Mammoth exploded, the top of the H-shaped chassis blowing off and taking the crew compartment with it. He laid down suppressive fire with his GD-2 rifle, working to maintain the hailstorm GDI was creating to balk the incoming Scrin forces; _Jeez, it's like this is outta some bug war movie... just shitloads of lead against shitloads of bugs..._

XXXX

Ahsoka screamed as Reaper-17 blasted her with lightning, causing her to stagger back… _Come on Ahsoka… keep fighting…_ she urged herself, trying to find the reserve in her body to fight on. But her body was not responding as the electricity shorted out nerves and left her stunned, dazed. Finally, she collapsed, her lightsaber dropping next to her. She landed on her knees, hands in front, bent, as she tried to catch her breath, tried to push herself up, but her body was just too stunned.

Traveler-59 walked up to her, and pulled her up, holding her by her throat. Out of instinct, Ahsoka put her hands around his hands, trying to pry them off. He looked at her, musingly, kicking her lightsaber away mockingly.

"And so it is," Traveler-59 said, "That Ahsoka Tano, the latest incarnation of the Mother, was defeated, once more, the Scrin Victorious proven. Take heart, for the world order is being righted."

"**Not in my world**!" shouted someone, a woman, in the distance. Ahsoka didn't have time to react as Sarah jump-jetted directly into Reaper-17, knocking the two lightsabers out of her hands as the two barreled into a rock face.

Ahsoka, recovering just enough control to use the Force, absorbed the nearby Tiberium crystals' energy, feeling the flux pulsing through her, using it to rejuvenate her body, to give it the last breath in needed. Then she kicked the distracted Traveler-59 away, and called her lightsaber to her. It was then cut in half by Traveler-59, who snarled. Reaper-17 and Sarah were now engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, Zone Armor facing off with previously-unknown alien life form.

Ahsoka focused, using the energy she had taken, and unleashed a powerful Force push, blasting all three of them away, but Sarah responded to the change first, jump-jetting towards Ahsoka, and as the push subsided, she was able to land decently while the two Scrin rolled in their crash landings, slamming into the remains of blossom trees and old, large rocks.

The two Scrin recovered quickly, however, and rushed them. Ahsoka called one of Reaper-17's knocked-away lightsabers to herself, and rushed the Scrin. She parried the back-up blade carried by Reaper-17, locking with her and used it to ride the blade downwards, then cut under, severing the hands and torso. The stolen blade cut through Reaper-17's flesh, causing her to give a surprised gasp before death claimed her swiftly. As the two halves and bony hands hit the ground, they began to decay instantly, the Tiberium absorbing what was left of the body, using it to grow yet more of itself.

Travler-59 screamed in outrage, but instead of going after Ahsoka, he rushed after Sarah…

"No you _don't!_" Ahsoka shouted, rushed at him from behind, tripping him up with a quick nudge with the Force. As Traveler-59 whirled around to meet Ahsoka's blade, Sarah moved in with her sonic grenade launcher… and hesitated, looking at Ahsoka… and her lack of protection against Sonics.

"Do it!" Ahsoka shouted, as Traveler-59 began to push against her block, threatening to break free.

Sarah fired, blasting Ahsoka away… but Travler-59 blinked out of existence as he teleported… and Ahsoka was the only one caught in the sonic blast, blown away.

As Ahsoka landed, she screamed, her body twitching as the Tiberium which had found its way into her began to react violently. But this was only a pale indicator of the reactions going on within. The Tiberium that existed within her body, both from simple exposure and whatever Kane had done while she was in Temple Prime, simply seemed to react, shaking into smaller pieces and moving faster and more violently. She felt pain shoot through her whole body, with absolutely no refuge as the disruption of the sonic weapon began to break her down, it felt like the end; pain so powerful it was blinding

XXXXX

As the Forgotten and the GDI reinforcements pushed into Ironside's Nod base, Rex saw the bastard himself fighting in Black Hand armor and with a heavy assault rifle, gunning down a squad of Forgotten soldiers as their bullets impacted his armor, which caused him to stagger, but not before he'd finished the squad off.

"IRONSIDE!" Rex shouted, "Come and fight me you traitor!"

"With pleasure, clone!" Ironside responded, shooting at Rex, who dodged. Rex brought out his dual pistols and began to shoot Ironside. Ironside's rifle ran out of ammo. Taking advantage of this, Rex activated his Jump Jet, rushing at him, blasters blazing, and barreled into Ironside. The two began to fist fight, Rex disarmed by Ironside, as the Forgotten forces demolished the base, taking casualties to Nod Obelisks of Light and surviving Black Hand forces, but they pushed harder than Nod could withstand, the Obelisk crumbling as Ghostalker got right up to it and put C4 charges onto the superstructure.

Rex punched Ironside in the face, but he responded by throwing him into the air with a kick to the chest. Growling and rushing forward, Rex tackled Ironside as he got up, the two punching each other. Rex was flipped around and shouted as Ironside tried to pop his groin. He responding by decking Ironside in the groin with his right hand, following it up with a head butt to the chest, knocking him back. Rex straddled Ironside, punching at him as Ironside tried to block.

At last, Rex broke Ironside's arms, knocking them away, and got his hands around Ironside's neck. He squeezed as hard as he could, and felt something snap. Ironside's eyes dulled, and rolled into the back of his head. Rex yanked the see-through helmet off, let him lie, and watched Ironside disintegrate in the Tiberium.

"A fitting end for you, traitor." Rex said, looking at what was left of Ironside's armor, and kicking it over. _Rot in hell, traitor._

_XXXXX_

Ghostalker fired his rail gun, blasting a Black Hand soldier away. Ducking into cover, a broken Nod fence, he reloaded and fired again, taking out the Confessor attacking a small squad of Forgotten militia.

"Thanks!" shouted the squad's leader. Ghostalker heard something land behind him; he turned as he reloaded, ready to shoot, only to see Rex walk up, nodding. "Ghostalker, how we doing?"

"Nod forces are in disarray," Ghostalker reported, "Just going to knock out their command and control."

"Got it. You want help?"

"No, get to the Relay Node." Ghostalker said, and watched as Rex ordered the GDI soldiers to the Relay Node. His rail gun reloaded and cooled, he rushed forward towards the Nod ConYard, shooting the guard to the right, sidestepping as the second tried to shoot him, and got close enough to melee the second guard, bringing him down, then slamming him into the wall hard enough to break his neck. Ghostalker flipped a powerful C4 charge up, sending it into the superstructure of the ConYard, then got back. His distance gained, he pressed the detonate button.

The Nod Construction Yard collapsed, the above-ground part collapsing and crushing the underground part of it underneath the dirt.

_That is a poor way to die,_ Ghostalker mused as he wondered the fate of the men and women manning the ConYard below that would remain nameless to him.

_XXXXX_

Sarah rushed up to Ahsoka, _Oh God, please don't be dead… please don't be dying… I'm so sorry…_

As she kneeled next to Ahsoka, she could tell what she had done: She had, with the sonic grenade launcher, agitated any of the Tiberium that had gotten within her lungs… _or Kane inserted artificially back at Temple Prime…_

"Hang on Ahsoka…" Sarah said, "Just hold on…"

"Sarah…" Ahsoka whispered, "get me… near some… of that blue Tib."

Sarah glanced back… the only blue Tiberium they'd reach would be in the crater… the Ion Storm was strong… but there was no lightning… _and it's interfering with the GDI Ion Cannon targeting…_

"Alright, hang on Ahsoka." Sarah threw Ahsoka over her shoulders, and ran towards the crater, and jump jetted down. Lying Ahsoka into it, she could see herself how much a connection Ahsoka had with Tiberium… the wounds began to close, as if she was stabilizing in the blue Tiberium.

"Get… clear. Spot… for the Ion Cannon." Ahsoka whispered, and Sarah nodded, jump jetting onto the rim of the crater. As she reached the rim, she saw Ahsoka's action, and was stunned how readily that Ahsoka could throw her life away just to stop the Scrin... _Just like what you did at Berne,_ she thought, stunned at the similarity...

XXXX

Ahsoka knew what she had to do, limping towards the Relay Node, the surviving Scrin yelled, confused. Ahsoka didn't take any chances, she rushed past them, shoving any in her way, and rushed to the top as the Scrin turned their attention to the GDI assault bearing down on them. Ahsoka touched the Relay Node right between the structure's two 'eyes'. She suddenly felt the vast mental network of the Scrin pounding down on her… but she sent orders, with an overwhelming sense… _Shut down the Ion Storms… at Ground Zero._

The Ion Storms began to cease… and in the sky, she noticed a speck of blue powering up… _Good, they got the coordinates… now to make sure it works…_

Kane's words from when she was his captive came back... _"But I'm afraid that heroic self-sacrifice, at least today, is going to have to wait."_

_Maybe this is what he meant..._ Ahsoka wondered briefly, steeling herself for what was to come.

Ahsoka forced herself to keep the connection with the Scrin mental network going… and keep the Ion Storm interference down to prevent any last ditch protection. She began to lose consciousness as the Scrin mental network, unable to save the Relay Node or remove her influence, pounded on her mind, intending to at least her with them.

XXXX

Rex rushed to the crater, the Forgotten right behind him, aiding in blasting the remaining Scrin away, and saw Sarah standing there, watching.

"Sarah!" Rex shouted, "What's going on?"

GDI forces began to move up onto the crater around the Relay Node, targeting and destroying the Storm Columns to prevent the Ion Storms from coming back up… hopefully.

"Ahsoka…" Sarah said… "She's disabling the Ion Storms for us…"

Rex stood there, transfixed as he looked up, magnifying his view to see the Ion Cannon satellite in orbit… _Ahsoka's doing what she has to do… I know what I have to do…_ He activated his jump jet, and launched over. He landed near Ahsoka, who seemed to be locked in a mental struggle and losing consciousness, unnoticing of anything, and eight beams of pure blue light rushed down to Earth, encircling the Relay Node. Rex grabbed Ahsoka, holding her in his hands, and jump jetted into the crater, narrowly missing one of the beams of Ion light as it circled into the center… Rex fired his Jump Jets one last time, landing on a Mammoth Tank, rolling off, and landing on his feet… before being blown backwards into the tank, Ahsoka flying limply over and rolling on the ground, entirely limp save for very light breathing.

Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted from where the Relay Node was, and suddenly, a massive wave of energy flew past them, the beam striking down like the thunder of a thunder god, like a hammer crashing down upon an anvil, the Relay node exploded even more tremendously that anticipated, parts of it sailing into the air as purple explosions echoed through... And a massive dust cloud followed, rushing towards the GDI forces.

"GET DOWN! GET DOWN!" McCarthy shouted as GDI soldiers hit the dirt as fast as they could as the shockwave passed through them, as if a powerful wind, but one that while powerful, was incapable of blowing them away.

X

Throughout the world, Scrin forces died; no euphemism for it. As the energy released from the Relay Node passed them, they collapsed and died painfully… collapsed into parts… or simply sputtered out of control and hit Earth hard and fast, moving no more. They no longer had Tiberium radiation, and thus, their life support was _cut_ right out from under them, suddenly, and painfully.

"We did it!" shouted a GDI Zone Trooper, Corporal Henderson, as he saw dozens of the enemy Shock Troopers collapsing, twitching like bugs that had been only partially squished in half, "We got 'em! We won!"

"Whooo hooo!" shouted another soldier, a normally stoic sniper who was sniping Scrin infantry from long range behind them.

"That's how Earth rolls, you alien sons of bitches!" shouted the Commando, Higgins.

X

"Commander!" McCarthy said finally, "We did it… we won."

Rex sighed, and looked at Ahsoka; her limp body was cut and burned in many places, and she looked like a corpse… it was by the fact that she hadn't decayed into dust that proved to him she was alive... if barely. "But at what cost…" he wondered aloud.

XXXXX

**The Next Day**

Early the next morning, within the GDI armory, a doctor was examining Ahsoka's wounds. They had gotten her in yesterday, but she was a lower priority by virtue (or curse) of a lack of dangerously fatal wounds. _God, please let her live…_ Sarah prayed, _she's done too much to deserve this…_

"We think," Doctor Tennant said, "that she's in a coma… the cause? We think its shock, the injuries, or some combination thereof. I suspect time will tell how she'll be."

Rex nodded, "Tell me the minute she gets better… or worse."

X

"Yes, Commander." The doctor nodded, before turning to go tend another patient. GDI's casualties were immense… Rex had lost count of how many suits of dead GDI soldiers he had pasted, the bodies long since reduced to dust as Tiberium's radiation took hold.

Leaving the armory, the two went towards the Command Post, which was recently set up by Stevenson. The two MARVs and the Mammoth Mark II were heavily damaged, and it was going to take time for the GDI forces to be ready to leave.

Rex entered one of the officer's rooms, Sarah right behind him, and turned the transmitter on, setting it to W3N. They sat down on the long chair, more of a bench really, right next to each other.

"_In a __**stunning**__ victory today, GDI finally defeated the invaders_." William Frank said smiling, the screen showing a picture of GDI's logo in the corner. But not just the GDI logo, but the Steel Talons logo lower to the left, and the ZOCOM logo lower to the right. "GDI forces advanced and fought not only the Invaders, but Nod forces that tried also to engage GDI, and in a battle rivaling that of the Battle for Moscow in the Second Great World War, the Battle for Sarajevo in the First Tiberium War, GDI, Invader, and Nod clashed…"

He took a more serious tone… "_Casualties were high on all sides… Nod and Invader were reportedly wiped out entirely. GDI forces took heavy casualties… many dead, and countless more wounded… A single statement from General Jack Granger was issued from GDI, Quote: 'We ask the public to be patient as we get the details together of exactly what happened, and will inform W3N the minute we can.' End Quote. Already, reports from GDI are coming in as we speak, but a full report on our part will have to wait until we can confirm everything properly. However, reports have also have come in of a __Liquid Tiberium____Bomb created on Redmond Boyle's orders being available… one which, if used, reportedly could cause __**millions**__ to lose their lives as the Tiberium reacted to the bomb… but GDI's battle commander refused to use it. The world can rest easy now, thanks to that same commander who turned the tide at Washington DC, Commander Rex, and the soldiers under his command. Their in the face of impossible odds, time and time again, kept GDI fighting, and humanity safe. Thank you, Commander… and we all hope that Boyle is brought to justice for his crimes against humanity_."

Rex inhaled as it ended. _I never wanted this kind of fame…_

Sarah looked at him, "Surprised?"

"No… but… I honestly wonder why I'm getting all the attention… I just did my duty."

"In a sense… Boyle was right…" Sarah admitted, "You're seen as a hero because you ended the war. My father told me that McNeil actually disobeyed direct orders to reinforce GDI elsewhere when he attacked Nod in Cairo and ended the Second Tiberium War and, ironically, saved GDI as well. He was made famous by that, despite GDI playing his role down for obvious reasons."

Rex sighed, "Maybe… but still, I never wanted this kind of fame here…"

"Well, look at the bright side Rex… you likely will just continue on in GDI until it's time to retire. Obscurity isn't an option for you anymore." She kissed him.

Rex smiled, "With you around… I think I'll enjoy that considerably."

She gave him a smile, "Is that an invitation?"

"Soon as we're back in DC, I know a local barkeeper who has some pretty good brew…"

"Sammy's?" Sarah asked, smiling, "How about someplace nice? Not that Sammy's isn't nice, but a bar? Seriously?"

Rex blushed as he realized how little he knew about dating… _This is going to be interesting…_

XXX

**Ayer's Rock**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

The Legendary Insurgent walked into the command center, having returned from a brutal battle at Kane's tower which had cost considerable numbers of Nod lives; _ Thousands of brave soldiers,_ she mused, thinking; _Each one fighting for their brothers in arms. May they never be forgotten..._

Kane stepped out from the makeshift inner sanctum, "I heard you were back, my daughter;" he said with a smile, "Congratulations." He let it sink in.

"Thank you," she said, nodding.

"The last tower has been activated," Kane explained, gesturing for her to follow him, "It now stands invulnerable to human attack. Inside that tower, the secrets to Tiberium await us, and with them, control of the universe." He stopped just outside of the sanctum, the door opening to a bright light from within.

"Come," he said, "Join my Inner Circle as we prepare to open the gateway." He turned to the sanctum, and said boldly, "Behold, our hero, the one who's loyalty and courage made our dreams of Ascension... a _reality_."

He entered, and she followed, taking her place in the Inner Circle. As she entered, reaching a pinnacle point within the Brotherhood, she thought back... Ajay's warnings about Nod's true nature, about how Kane wasn't infallible.

She put the thoughts aside; Ascension was, if Kane was indeed right, at hand, the final preparations to be made. And with the tower secured, Nod could recover from the mad rush to save the towers, let time blend it into the shadows.

While GDI may of been able to claim victory in the Third Tiberium War, she knew better. Kane had won, in truth, while GDI only won the tactical victories. The _strategic_, and the overall more critical victories, had gone to Kane, and the Brotherhood of Nod.

XXX

**REVISED Author's Notes:**

**Not much to change; omitted the actual battle at Kane's tower because that would be too clunky to add... and frankly, I have a hard time believing it was pulled off as the 'total wipe GDI forces out' as they make you do. Just assume it took a lotta dead Nod and McNeil giving the Insurgent a run for her money and nearly succeeding in knocking out the tower.**

**This revision update is a Christmas gift; hope you enjoyed.**


	17. Chapter 17: Move It

_PREPARE A FULL INVASION FORCE! EARTH, WILL, __**FALL!**_

_-_ The Scrin Overlord, upon hearing word of the Scrin defeat on Earth.

**Chapter 17: Move it**

**Five days after the Battle of Ground Zero**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Rex walked into General Granger's office, finding the four other GDI generals in there.

"Rex," Granger said, nodding, "I gotta hand it to you… you defeated the Invaders, and you did it the correct way. All the Towers are down save for one in the Mediterranean. Nod and Invaders working against us was just too much, by the time we got there, it was damn impenetrable. However, the scientists, including a recently-rescued Dr. Sydney Mobius, say it's completely inert, completely harmless, because you took out the Relay Node. Looks like we'll never find out what it was built for… I'm both relieved… and terrified at the same time." The other Generals nodded or exchanged looks, then looked at Rex.

_They know something I don't…_ Rex decided as he read their expressions.

"Anyways," Granger said, "You probably didn't hear, but Boyle 'resigned' this morning. Havoc broke into his bunker single handedly and arrested him for war crimes."

Rex sighed, as if expecting to hear the bad news, "How much damage did he do to the base while he was at it?"

Mitchell gave a theatrical sigh, "It was on fire when we got there… most of Boyle's brainwashed troopers dying from an illegally modified Vervack Elite Commando pistol rounds… medics had a couple nightmares after that."

Rex slapped his forehead.

"And… he used the Ion Cannon to blow Boyle's Tiberium lab… he didn't set the bomb off, thank God, but he leveled the place with overkill." Granger added.

Rex slapped his forehead again.

"And… he left GDI with a multi-billion credit debt to pay for collateral damage." Renteria added.

Rex sighed, not bothering to hit his forehead again.

"Anyways," Granger added, "Boyle's being detained in a top GDI prison. His crimes? Authorizing the Liquid Tiberium Bomb and forced labor to name only a few… What a disaster the L-T bomb would have been… But, GDI has new leadership now, and new hope. You're a hero Rex, and that is the way history will remember you." Granger smiled as he pulled something out from on his desk and handed it to Rex. "Congratulations, you deserve it." With that, the four generals left.

Rex opened it… and inside, was an official document.

_10/4/2047_

_Commander Rex,_

_We, the GDI council, are honored to inform you that you have been chosen to take the now-vacant position of Leading Director, and lead GDI as a whole. Your character has been vouched for by many GDI officials, and popular vote also went in your favor. We apologize for not being able to inform you of the nomination, but a passing Ion Storm had disabled communications with you at the time._

_The GDI council will convene at the Pentagon in four days to make this official._

_Congratulations,_

_From:_

_The GDI Council of Directors_

Rex blinked, staring dumbfounded at it. _The leader of GDI… no kriffing way! I'm just a soldier!_

Rex slid the letter back into the case, and shook his head. _You got a few days to think about it Rex…_ he told himself, _you need to check on Ahsoka…_

Heading down into the medical bay near the Pentagon, Rex showed his ID. He got instant access.

He walked down and knocked lightly on the door, then opened it. Ahsoka was still asleep… but her wounds were looking far better. _Medicine does wonders… even if this rock lacks Bacta._

Rex heard footsteps… unusually heavy ones. He turned around, and he was surprised to see an elderly mutant with blue Tiberium covering his face… he wore heavy combat boots, of metal make. His heavy robes hung fairly close to him.

"I came to see how this young hero was doing…" the elderly Forgotten said, "I assume you are… Rex?"

"That's correct." Rex responded, nodding, "Who am I talking to then, you evidently have the advantage."

"I am known amongst the Forgotten as… Dread Milano, by virtue of the terrible, _terrible_ things I've seen…"

"I should be thanking you for sending help then," Rex said, "The soldiers of the Forgotten were a key to our victory."

"Is she awake yet?" he asked, gesturing towards Ahsoka.

"No… she's been in a coma ever since Ground Zero…"

At that moment, Ahsoka's eyes opened. She glanced around... and immediately sat up, sending a tube on the table next to her flying. Rex ducked as the tube soared past where his head was and slammed into the wall, spilling what looked to be some sort of food-water paste… _Ugh… there goes her lunch…_ Rex thought as he looked at it…

"WhereAmI?" Ahsoka asked at once, the words stringing together, looking around, her hand instinctively reaching for her belt for her lightsaber, but it was gone, destroyed at Ground Zero.

"Easy," Rex said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're safe."

Ahsoka looked around, the GDI logo stamped on the wall... and dripping with the tasteless paste GDI served at their medical wards. "What happened?"

"The Relay Node went up in smoke; the Ion Cannon vaporized it, thanks to you. According to reports, all the aliens dropped shortly after."

"Hang on… how'd I survive then?" Ahsoka asked, surprised. "Don't tell me I learned how Kane survived at Sarajevo…"

"That was me actually," Rex explained, "once the Ion Cannon began to fire; I grabbed you and got you clear. The battle was won, and the war is, officially, over. All that's left is so-called cleanup. Most of Nod has been destroyed, but they still got a heavy presence in Australia."

Ahsoka glanced behind him, towards Milano, and asked, "Who's the Forgotten?" Her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to sense something about him.

"They call me Dread Milano… by virtue of the terrible things I see." He explained, "I believe you are… familiar, with the events of the Second Tiberium War, correct? Or the Firestorm Crisis that followed?"

"Barely…" Ahsoka admitted. "I was pretty… cut off during the events of the Firestorm Crisis."

"Mhmmm." Milano said, frowning slightly. "You are aware of Tratos, however, correct?"

"Yes, I am." Ahsoka answered. Rex nodded, as part of their cover; they had studied up on most Yellow Zone history, which included a considerable amount of the Forgotten's history as well. Tratos was just one subject.

"Well… the Visitors were looking for something important… something that they acquired, but could not hold onto. Unfortunately, it is now in the hands of Nod."

Rex frowned, "And that is?"

"A single Tiberium crystal… of orange color. The only such example on the planet. We kept it safe in our main home, in Congo, but the Visitors stole it from us, then Nod stole it from them after the Battle of Ground Zero. This crystal has considerably more power than any other form of Tiberium… but to use it to make a whole building is a simple waste… it is a power source… and if Nod uses it for what we fear they will…"

Ahsoka nodded, understanding… though Rex could tell she was suspicious still.

"So what's Nod planning on?" Rex asked.

"We fear something worse than the Ion Cannon in power, or more advanced methods of Tiberium infusion… or worse, new advancements into ReGenesis and Divination." Milano pulled out what looked to be a holo-projector, and an image appeared. "This is a Black Hand base near the western Australian coast. It's not too heavily defended, but it's fairly secret."

Rex frowned. _What's he going after… he's not trying to get her to go in alone, is he?_

"So you're saying you want me to go alone?" Ahsoka asked.

"If you think that is best." Milano said. "The Forgotten have engaged patrols in the area, to keep them from being confident in transporting it away, and are preparing a proper assault… you have time."

Ahsoka pushed the sheet off and turned, moving to get up. "I'll go as soon as I can."

"Whoa," Rex said, putting his hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her down onto the bed, "The medics need to…"

"Rex, we don't have time." Ahsoka responded, "That crystal isn't just some random variation of Tiberium… it's important to the Scrin as well."

Rex blinked, "And you know this…"

"Did anyone get assaulted with mind control during the battle?"

"Yes, a few," Rex said, "Caused some good chaos for a while, but we managed to pin the source down and destroy those so-called 'masterminds' and 'prodigies'… how does that…"

"The Scrin used a similar attack, except it was sharing images rather than direct mind control. That crystal key to their evolution. We can't leave it in Nod's hands, they know more than us in this matter. I'm going Rex."

Rex sighed as she began to get hyper in her speech… _Always on the move…_ "Alright… I'll talk with General Mitchell and see about transport… maybe we can coordinate this with clean up operations to remove Nod from the region."

Ahsoka nodded, "Alright, I'll get checked out with the medics then."

As she walked out, Milano shook his head, "She's very fast on her feet."

"She's able to recover quickly… and always has doing the right thing in mind." Rex said, also shaking his head. _I never get used to how fast Jedi can heal once they mediate or whatever the hell it is they do. It's scary at times… Either that or GDI's medicine took a quantum leap when I wasn't looking._

"Don't worry, Rex." Milano said, "The Forgotten will likely be doing the brunt of the work… But given her… unique mutations, we think she'd be best suited for protecting the crystal afterwards."

-

-

-

**General Mitchell's Office**

**The Pentagon**

**Blue Zone B-1**

As Rex walked into Mitchell's Washington office, he was surprised at how he had furnished it, beyond his normal desk and chairs, which he used when using his non-primary office. In addition to the two chairs, common cabinet and bookcase… and a well-drawn pin up of a brown haired Zone Raider, helmet off, lying on her back smiling out at the viewer.

"You gotta be kidding me, General Mitchell." Rex said as he entered, eyeing the pin-up which looked disturbingly like Park…

Mitchell smiled, "So Rex my boy, you've finally realized what your pair is for eh? Can't see why else you'd come into my office. Hehehe."

Rex frowned, _That definitely wasn't what I had in my mind at all…_

"General Granger just told me, and I filled him in on certain things. Nah, I left Ahsoka out of it, but I think he's going to be able to draw two and two… though she can tell him when she's ready, I told him not to pester her on it. Anyways, he told me that you told her, as she had mentioned something very vague to him about Rex being 'younger than he knew'. Anyways, I'd be glad to give you some advice on raiding Raiders. Heh heh."

"O… K." Rex said hesitantly, taking a seat.

"Well Rex, the first thing to know about women, they aren't the same as men. Now, I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but they are different… biologically, of course, and physiologically. You wanna woo the young maiden, you gotta do it right. Sure you've seen Romeo and Juliet… yeah, no; kissing by Shakespeare's book ain't happening in this day and age… or the speed the romance happened." Mitchell pulled something out of a drawer… a book, and slid it over to Rex.

"_A GDI Soldier's Guide to Raiders and the Other Sex_…" Rex read aloud, the picture of a Zone Raider, taken directly from a GDI recruitment poster, just above the title… "_Author Unknown…_"

"Yeah, the author wanted to remain anonymous. Don't blame him, his understanding is ridiculous… could of used it back during the Second Tiberium War."

Rex opened it, flipping to a random page… _Why do I have a feeling the first thing I'm going to wind up reading is compliments…_

"Anyways, let me give you some advice that's not covered in that book. Commenting on a good kill? Yeah, it works, but seriously? Went out of date back during the First Tib War. Armor compliments? Don't try it unless you want to get weird looks and pervert comments. Try something really romantic, ya know, chocolates, sweet comments, flowers, maybe a mysterious card… wait, scratch cards; that went out of date when Havoc was making home-made bombs with his baby bottle…"

Rex raised an eyebrow, wondering how someone could make a bomb with a baby bottle… _They really don't check the chemical properties of their formula, do they?_ Rex decided.

"Anyways… try a romantic date. Nah, leave Sammy's out of it. Try _Peppi Le Pew's,_ the French restaurant across the Potomac. It's perfect for a first date… well… a first serious date. A tester date, if you know what I mean… try one of the quainter restaurants… like Beurtuchi's, has some great Italian food… actually, don't go for Italian, you just got back from hell in Italy… try Coral Seafood down the street, pretty good lobster there."

"Uh… General?" Rex interrupted.

"Yes? A question from the young romantic?" Mitchell smiled a smile that Rex found positively disturbing…

"I only came to run some authorization by you… The Forgotten are going after some artifact connected to the Scrin that Nod is in possession of… and Ahsoka is leaping to get there… all she really needs is a lift…"

"A lift we can easily provide, pending the Forgotten bring her back. We're going to have to take more time before committing fully to reestablishing our presence in Australia, Rex. I know, the Forgotten came to our aid at an important time, and I intend to return the favor as soon as possible, but right now…"

"I understand." Rex said. "They say they really just need her help… unfortunately, I think she's going to go come hell or high water."

"Heh, weird visions again? I will never get used to anything of that scale, I'm afraid." Mitchell asked, leaning back in his chair, sighing. Ahsoka had seen a few things that did, in fact happen, often slapping the Talons in the face, including a corrupt GDI commander who enslaved an entire Yellow Zone town with a few grunts and hired mercenaries. If Ahsoka hadn't seen it and Rex act on it, it easily could of ballooned into both a trend amongst the corruption that wormed into GDI and a Nod propaganda tool... but Rex's quick actions and hard-hitting punishment had contained the situation… no small part thanks to the fact Ahsoka had seen it coming.

"No… something connected to those Scrin, some… orange Tiberium crystal apparently."

"Hrrrm. Records from the Firestorm Crisis indicate the Forgotten had possession of such and were doing experiments… hadn't been seen since Tratos was assassinated …" Mitchell rubbed his chin. "Tell you what Rex, we got a Battleship we can spare to lend some fire support if it can, plus it's got a helipad. I'll send it and the Hammerhead on it to assist. Ahsoka can bunk with the crew and hitch a ride on the Hammerhead to the land, then assist the Forgotten while the Battleship does its recon."

Rex nodded, "Thank you, General."

"No worries Rex, I'll chalk this up as Talon recon… and while we're there, she is to gather recon on Nod's position in Australia if she can."

As Rex left, Mitchell had one more thing to say, "Oh, Rex. Congratulations."

-

**GDI Battleship **_**Liberty**_

**Southern Pacific Ocean**

**No Zone Applicable**

"Alright Lieutenant," the Captain of the ship said, "I'm informed that you were… assigned to assist the Forgotten as repayment for their aid in Africa." He opened his mouth after, as if to add something to it, but thought better. "Right… you're going to stop by a quaint little village called _Shogun's Alley_, don't ask why it's called that, the briefing didn't say. Just check it out, send us the details, and continue on to aid the Forgotten."

"Understood," Ahsoka said. _In other words, do some light recon for GDI to officially justify me heading out here, then do what I came here for._ She had no lightsaber, the one she took from Reaper-17 during Ground Zero has disintegrated after the Relay Node was down, and thus, she had a folded up GDI Rail Carbine… which she was no slouch with… _Even though lightsabers are probably more civilized…_ "How long until we get there?"

"Oh, probably a day. Might as well get some sleep, something tells me you'll need it."

Ahsoka gave a brief salute, then left.

-

**23 Hours Later**

**Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"Alright Lieutenant, we're approaching the town now. The Forgotten liaison should meet you a few klicks to the north." The Hammerhead pilot said. Ahsoka was standing next to the pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit. The cargo hold had some basic refugee aid, really, just a few crates of food and medical supplies, but still, better than nothing.

Ahsoka looked down… "Hey, what's that? Looks like a… oh no…"

Below, a Black Hand flame tank was moved into position… and several people, locals by their dress, were marched in front. A Black Hand confessor was saying something Ahsoka couldn't hear over the beat of the Hammerhead's rotors. The Flame tank then unleashed a barrage of blue flames, and burned the civilians down. A female (or what looked to Ahsoka like a female) Black Hand Disciple walked up and nodded as the flames began to die out where the civilians had been… now nothing more than ash.

"Blast the tank, I got the infantry!" Ahsoka shouted to the pilot, running to the back, kicking an auxiliary door open and leaping down, ignoring the pleas of the surprised Hammerhead pilots, who shut the door automatically. She landed with a grunt, slowing her descent with the Force, and opened fire with her Rail Carbine, taking out a trio of Black Hand disciples, but the female one dodged out of the way and sent a torrent of flame at Ahsoka with her flamethrower. Dodging out of the way and shoving her into the wall with a Force push; Ahsoka rushed forward, and ripped the helmet off.

As the Flame tank exploded as the Hammerhead pierced its dual fuel tanks with Armor-Piercing munitions, Ahsoka examined the face of the Black Hand disciple she had pinned…

_Huh… some of those guys back in DC would of found her beautiful… if it weren't for the fact she'd be burning them alive…_ Ahsoka decided. The female Black Hand disciple had shoulder-length raven-black hair, her skin flawless. She snarled at Ahsoka, and then, to Ahsoka's surprise, kicked her with unexpected force, and rushed clear.

"Get back here you coward!" Ahsoka shouted, rushing after her.

"This is the Resistance! GDI, come in!" came the voice of an Australian local.

"GDI Commando Tano here, what's going on?"

"The Black Hand is 'purifying' us because we 'profaned while under the protection of the Black Hand'. They're trying to target our civilians… we think this is just one of many extermination campaigns. We need those Flame Tanks destroyed; we don't have any armor-piercing weaponry!"

"Got it, I'll help anyway I can."

Ahsoka turned as she heard a shout, and saw another Black Hand Disciple aiming at a young couple who were huddled in a corner, fearful of the Disciple's flame thrower.

"Hey, tough guy!" Ahsoka shouted, aiming the carbine, "Pick on someone who can fight back!"

As the Black Hand disciple turned, Ahsoka shot him three times, right in the face, leaving a trio of smoking holes, two in the eyes, and one in the mouth. He dropped dead.

"Hammerhead, get back to the battleship and haul in the Predator Tank! We need something that can take on Flame tanks!" Ahsoka shouted, holding her wrist EVA closer to her head to make sure it was loud and clear.

"Roger that, we'll get the auxiliary tank." The Hammerhead pilot said, and the helicopter left. Ahsoka reloaded the carbine, and continued on, targeting Nod militants (likely 'on-loan' from mainline Nod) and leaving no Nod survivors.

Several people armed with what looked to Ahsoka like common Visceroid-killing hunting rifles were in a fire fight with a Black Hand Confessor, who was shouting, "Confess and be _purified!_"

Ahsoka shot his head off with a well-placed shot with the carbine, then rushed to the Resistance members' barricade.

"Thanks for the help!" shouted one of the Resistance members, "The Black Hand is building an Obelisk of Light in the town square, we can't let them finish it!"

"Leave it to me," Ahsoka said, "EVA, get me a map of the village."

"**Cannot comply, radar being jammed."** EVA reported sadly… or as sad as a computer generated voice could be.

"Lovely…" Ahsoka muttered… "Right, where's the town square?"

"Just down the road." One of the Resistance members said.

"Got it," Ahsoka leapt out of the cover and rushed towards the town square. As she got there, she spotted a trio of Black Hand Flame Tanks standing by, with plenty of Black Hand Disciples patrolling the area… _Crap… that's a lot of flame power…_ Ahsoka realized… _enough to melt a Mammoth tank…_

She looked around… and spotted a group of Militants with rocket launchers, she overheard one of them mention to be alert for GDI air…

Ahsoka rushed up to them, shooting them dead before they could react, and pulled the missile launcher off of one of them. Taking aim at the center Flame Tank, she pulled the trigger, sending in a rocket, the secondary rocket then fired.

The two green-streaking rockets flew across the town square, and slammed into the Flame Tank, blasting it apart, setting off the other two Flame Tanks, resulting in a massive blue-white fireball that consumed the wreckage and several Black Hand disciples.

The tanks out of the way, Ahsoka dropped the rocket launcher and rushed out, shredding Black Hand Disciples as they tried to react to the GDI commando suddenly appearing.

"Retreat!" shouted one of the Disciples, "It is Kane's will that we evacuate." then he got shot between the legs, causing him to bend down, then another hit his head, killing him.

The remaining Black Hand infantry rushed clear, and Ahsoka walked into the assembling Obelisk of Light. A Saboteur, a Nod agent in a space-suit like suit, was working on the wiring.

"What's the commotion out there? It's hard to concen…trate…" he slowed his words down as he stood up and turned, fear in his eyes as he saw Ahsoka. "I… oh dear…"

Ahsoka aimed the carbine at his head, and said, "Put your hands in the air, and step away from the Obelisk."

Suddenly, something behind her exploded, launching her forward onto the ground. The Saboteur ran, but Ahsoka wasn't letting him get away so easily. She aimed at him, and shot him in the butt and back. He collapsed, screaming, and skidding across the ground with his face before he ceased to move.

"Coward." Ahsoka muttered as she reloaded the now-empty carbine. "Leaving C4 in random places never works."

"Lieutenant, we got a Predator Tank to support you." The Hammerhead pilot reported, and Ahsoka looked up, and sure enough, a Predator Tank, with a Rail Gun no less, was landed in the town square.

"Lieutenant, this is Predator Tank GDPT-1995, we're standing by."

"Thanks, we need to clear the Black Hand from the city." Ahsoka explained, "Call in GDI reinforcements, according to the local resistance, the Black Hand is launching extermination campaigns across Australia to get rid of those who aren't loyal to Nod."

"Can do, just clear any Rocket Militants in the way." The Predator Tank's officer reported.

"I can lend you some air support, Lieutenant." Reported the Hammerhead pilot, "Just tell us where, we're going to head back and get some rocket launchers for targeting the Flame Tanks."

"Thanks," Ahsoka said, "Now, let's clean up what's left!"

Ahsoka took point, shooting down a trio of Black Hand Disciples that tried to stop them, likely a rearguard against Ahsoka and any GDI Rapid Response that managed to show up.

"**Captives detected in the house ten meters ahead to the left."** EVA piped up.

"I thought radar was offline…" Ahsoka said as she kicked the door open.

"**Radar is unavailable, but we can still ping rough locations."** EVA answered.

Ahsoka peeked, and spotted a Black Hand Confessor interrogating two civilians. Ahsoka shot him in the chest; he spun around, and shouted, "Assistance needed!" and thusly dropped dead.

Two Black Hand Disciples burst into the hallway, their flamethrowers ready. Ahsoka ducked into the room, shooting one of the two, then as the other one came around to burn her out, Ahsoka shot him in the neck. She turned to the captive civilians and unshackled them.

"Thanks!" one of the captive civilians said, "They were looking for a man who aided the Black Hand leader Marcion 'escape Kane's wrath'."

"Hang on, the Black Hand's leader fled?" Ahsoka asked, surprised.

"Something about him displeasing Kane or some such… heh, ain't Kane dead? Dusted at Sarajevo?"

"Yeah… he's supposed to be dead." Ahsoka answered.

"Right, thanks for the help. We got a pair of 2nd Tiberium War vintage rifles in the basement; we'll meet up with the Resistance." The two left. Ahsoka leapt out the window, and landed on a dead Militant. Advancing forward, she spotted a trio of Scorpion Tanks rolling down the street.

"Predator, look alive, three Scorpions incoming!" Ahsoka warned.

"Got it Lieutenant, thanks for the heads up!"

The first Scorpion Tank was blasted into wreckage by a pair of shots from the Predator Tank, blocking the passage and keeping the other two pinned down. The Hammerhead had returned, with two rockets poking out of the cargo bay, which aimed down and fired at the other two tanks, destroying them.

"We're dropping some C4 for you, Lieutenant." The Hammerhead pilot said, and sure enough, a GDI soldier rappelled down from the back of the Hammerhead. Ahsoka ran up to him and took the C4, and he climbed back into the Hammerhead.

Setting the C4 on the wreckage, she got to a clear distance, and detonated it, blowing the three wrecked tanks into scrap.

The Predator Tank advanced, targeting Black Hand Disciples and Militants with its Rail Gun, which, when combined with Ahsoka's sharp aim, left no Black Hand forces alive.

"GDI, this is the Resistance. We've located the local Black Hand leader, some leading disciple. She's a leader amongst them for some reason, dunno why, but even Confessors listen to her."

"Got it…" Ahsoka said. "Where is she?"

"She's holed up in the Church, we think she's awaiting evacuation, we've spotted a Venom VTOL coming in."

"Got it, I'll intercept her." Ahsoka said, "EVA, got a map for me?"

"**Negative, but this road does lead to the Church according to records."**

"Pretty big village…" Ahsoka muttered to herself as she rushed along the road, leaving the Predator Tank behind. The Hammerhead continued doing flybys, hunting down and killing off any surviving Black Hand forces in the open.

Reaching the small Church, Ahsoka kicked the doors open, and standing, lo and behold, was the very same female Black Hand Disciple that she had engaged in her landing in the village.

"You got nowhere to run now you piece of rankweed!" Ahsoka shouted, opening fire with her Rail Carbine. But the disciple rolled behind a bench, detaching the flame thrower's fuel tanks from her armor, the tank clattering along the floor. Stalking forward with predatory speed, Ahsoka checked each aisle, making sure she wasn't trying to crawl away from under them. She reached the last one…

A black fist suddenly hit her in the side, causing Ahsoka to lose her grip on the Rail Carbine, and it clattered across the floor. A second punch was immanent, but Ahsoka caught it, and blocked another punch.

She heard the whine of an aircraft, and the burst of laser fire… the windows in the church suddenly exploded, sending glass flying everywhere. Ahsoka dived out of the way, grabbing the Rail Carbine. A Venom VTOL with a Spitfire laser flew in and opened fire on her. Ahsoka leapt out of the way, taking cover behind a statue of Jesus on the cross.

_Should of made a new lightsaber after all…_ Ahsoka thought grimly as the Venom kept shooting, melting the statue, forcing her to dodge, but not giving her a chance to return fire.

"This isn't over, GDI! We'll be back for you!" the female Black Hand disciple shouted as the Venom's hatch closed and flew off. Ahsoka sighed, and walked out of the ruined church. The Predator Tank rolled up.

"Lieutenant, you get the leader?" the officer asked.

"No… the Venom managed to cover her long enough." She answered, disappointedly and thoroughly annoyed.

"We've finished here, General Mitchell is aware of the new circumstances, you're to continue to the rendezvous with the Forgotten and help out with their issue."

"Right." Ahsoka answered, heading out of the town.

-

-

-

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"Very well then," Rex said, "I accept, but as soon as there's someone properly qualified for the job, I'm putting them forward for it. Happy, gentlemen?"

Rex was in the Pentagon's meeting room, the whole GDI council, or rather, what was left of it, assembled. _Bah… most of these guys are political lackeys._ Rex decided, _They only made this decision because they think it'd get them more power… going to have to figure out who can actually do their jobs…_

"Very well then." Councilor Raedarius said, "Now, you may of accepted, but we have a formal vote. Those in favor, say 'Aye'."

Most of the council sycophantly agreeing, and at once, said, 'Aye'. Generals Granger, Mitchell, and Renteria however, took a moment, then one by one, said 'Aye'. Rex nodded in appreciation. _At least they took a moment to actually think about it, even if they already had their decision made._

"Very well then…" Rex said, "So… what's the first order of business today?"

"Oh, tallying the damages from the Third Tiberuim War." One of them said, "Figure out what our new policies are, the works."

Rex sighed. _In other words, bureaucratic stuff. I swear that Boyle told them to get me the job just to spite me…_

The session began to drag on… and Rex found that there was little initiative in the GDI council… _No kriffing wonder Nod was able to overrun us in the first few battles._ Rex decided, _Never mind how it always seemed to be Boyle who made the decisions… I really need to at least leave the GDI council in better shape then I found it…_ _Which would not be very difficult given anyone would probably be better than these numbskulls._

After what felt to be days later, the council session finally ended.

As the sycophants left one by one, Rex sighed, and looked at the three Generals. "How do you three keep up with that stuff?" he finally asked, "I swear, politics call for more endurance than taking bullets to the chest."

Granger gave him a sad smile, "Alas, the price of fame."

Rex sighed. _Well, so much for my original plans of retiring when I'm too old for this…_

-

-

-

**Australian Outback**

**Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka was walking through the outback on her way to rendezvous with the Forgotten. The rendezvous point wasn't much farther ahead. As she walked by a cliff face, she heard several rocks tumble down. Cocking the Rail Carbine and aiming, she saw nothing… but heard, very faintly, someone breathing… and sensed a man's presence.

"GDI! Come out and put your hands in the air!" Ahsoka shouted, moving forward slowly, aiming the carbine, ready to shoot anything that came out.

"Oh… what's the point…" a man said, and Ahsoka heard the clatter of metal on rock, and a human, his long hair and beard a blondish brown, clad in a black leather vest with a red undercoat, came out of cover, hands in the air.

"Name, rank, the usual." Ahsoka ordered, keeping the carbine aimed at the man's heart.

"Name's Ajay, former Nod agent, number NA-7567." Ajay answered simply, "Let me guess, gonna get carted off to a GDI detention center?"

"That depends on what you meant by 'Former'." Ahsoka responded.

"Pretty simple actually. I left. Kane's gone wrong… don't get him anymore… to think I used to respect the man…" the last sentence was almost whispered, but Ahsoka could hear it.

"Wait," Ahsoka asked, surprised, "Kane's alive?"

"Yes, he is. Apparently, Temple Prime was just so he could detonate that Tib bomb and lure those damn aliens to Earth!" Ajay spat, "Then he's having us waste our lives protecting them when they shoot at _us_."

"Hang on… Kane was behind Nod's defense of the Relay Node _and_ those towers?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah, apparently it was all part of his 'plan for ascension' or whatever… By the way, the nukes we stole… yeah, we stole the codes under McNeil's nose while helping GDI fight those aliens at Sydney… then we blew his Ion Control Center to hell, Kane's orders apparently."

"Can you prove this?" Ahsoka asked.

"Easily." Ajay said, "I still have my Laptop and Nod databank. I'm unarmed, as you can see, and my gun's on the ground over there, if you want to pick it up."

Ahsoka nodded, reaching out towards the discarded Nod service pistol, and lifting it to herself with the Force. Ajay walked into his tent, which he opened, and, moving slowly to make it clear he's not making a move to shoot her, pulled out a Nod-issue laptop.

Ahsoka looked over his shoulder, watching as Nod data flashed by… _If GDI gets this, we'd be along way ahead of Nod remnants…_

"Look, Kane's holed up in the Nod base at Ayer's Rock, here's the coordinates." Ajay explained, writing the coordinates down. "Won't be able to fire the Ion Cannon… its well protected with Ion Disruptor towers."

"Right…" Ahsoka said, taking the coordinates and stuffing them into a belt pouch. "Now, the next question. What's Kane's overall plan?"

"I don't know, but apparently, it's something to do with 'ascension', as usual. What I can tell you was that a bit before the Towers began to fall, he was considerably frustrated … he muttered something about his plans being thrown back… and I don't think it was a GDI strike that did it."

Ahsoka frowned. Something within Nod had pissed Kane off good… and that was hard to think of.

"What about the Black Hand?" she then asked, "What's with this stuff I've heard about Marcion 'loosing favor with Kane'?"

"That? Marcion probably figured out that Kane's whacked too and the Black Hand's grunts don't want to leave Nod… or let the Black Hand leave again. Can't tell you much I'm afraid." Ajay gained an air of determination, "But by God, I want to prevent Kane from wasting anymore lives."

Ahsoka nodded, "GDI is going to want to debrief you." She reached for her wrist EVA, but Ajay didn't make any moves hinting he opposed going to GDI.

"Lieutenant, something come up?" asked the Captain from the Battleship that had brought Ahsoka to Australia.

"Yeah, found a Nod agent who left Nod… apparently he's willing to talk."

"Understood, Hammerhead en route to pick him up."

"Understood, Captain."

"Alright then, once you… hang on, I'm detecting several Black Hand squads inbound on your position! You'll have to protect the agent until we can evacuate him via Hammerhead."

Ahsoka tossed Ajay his gun; he caught it easily, and reloaded. They hit the rock face, waiting for the Black Hand to march up.

A dozen Black Hand Disciples marched up, lead by a single Confessor.

"Traitor! Surrender now, and you're punishment will be… more lenient then if not!"

"Can't you see Kane's using you?" Ajay shouted back. "He doesn't care for the lives of a few million people as long as his goals are fulfilled!"

"Do not dare to speak blasphemy!" the Confessor retorted. "This is your last chance!"

Ajay nodded to Ahsoka, and the two suddenly rose out of their cover, and shot the Confessor in the head, causing him to drop with mundane finality. The Black Hand Disciples charged, flamethrowers ready, but Ahsoka's Rail Carbine proved to be more than enough to shoot them dead.

"That was a bit too easy," Ajay said.

"Agreed…" Ahsoka said, then her wrist EVA beeped.

"**Flame Tank Detected!"**

"Crap…" Ahsoka muttered, "And nothing explosive to hurl into it… Hammerhead, where are you?"

"We're flying over the village now! Hold tight!"

Ahsoka spotted the Flame Tank in the distance… it was moving directly towards them. It got close enough for Ahsoka to shoot with the carbine. Aiming for the fuel tanks, she opened fire. The Rail Carbine wasn't able to deal much damage to the armored hull, but the fuel tanks began to take dents. Ajay aimed, and tried to help, but his hand gun was incapable of doing much at that range.

Ahsoka heard the constant beating of dual helicopter blades, and she looked up. A Hammerhead was in the air, and opened fire at the Flame Tank. A rope fell out from the Hammerhead's cargo bay, and several GDI soldiers rappelled down, two carrying Missile Launchers, five with Rifles. The missiles were able to piece the Flame Tank's weakened fuel tank, and it exploded into a fireball as it began to get deadly close.

"Agent Ajay," one of the Riflemen said, "You're to come with us. Consider yourself under protective custody."

Ajay nodded, putting the safety on his pistol and offering it to the Rifleman, who nodded, and took it. Quickly stripping the camp, the GDI soldiers packed it all into the Hammerhead, and then they flew off.

Ahsoka watched as they left. Glancing at the wrist-EVA's radar, she noticed the Forgotten liaison's position. _Not too far… better get going._

She encountered no additional Black Hand forces as she went north to the rendezvous.

At last, she reached the rendezvous. A single, old, First Tiberium War GDI Humvee with the Forgotten's insignia was parked, and standing next to it was a Forgotten soldier.

"Lieutenant Tano," the Forgotten said, nodding, "I'll take you to the group that will initiate the final strike on the Black Hand base."

Ahsoka nodded, "I'll help however I can."

-

**The Next Day**

**Road to Black Hand Base**

**Australian Outback**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

The road was long and winding, dusty to the extreme. Tiberium grew at regular places, small patches of it. _Australia's been one of the most contested zones ever since the accident at the Liquid Tiberium research facility the Talons were guarding…_ Ahsoka thought,_ damn scientists blew up some really good people with their accidents, and left their friends to clean it up._

The Forgotten strike team was pretty modest. A First Tiberium War X-66 Mammoth Tank, a pair of Second Tiberium War Amphibious APCs, and plenty of infantry armed with various weapons, but mostly GDI pulse rifles from the Second Tiberium War, but occasionally they sported a more exotic weapon, such as a Vulcan Chain gun or a Rocket-Propelled-Grenade launcher.

They advanced, encountering no patrols for an hour… suddenly; a rocket sped out and slammed into the side of the Mammoth Tank. It buckled slightly, but otherwise did not react to the damage. Nod Militants suddenly appeared all around, Ahsoka opened fire with her Rail Carbine.

"It's a trap! Open fire!" shouted a Forgotten officer, armed with a minigun, and he opened fire, taking several militants down with the first barrage.

"Watch out, they're coming out of the caves!" Ahsoka shouted; rolling out of the way as a couple bullets slammed into the ground next to her. She shot a squad of Militants rising to fire, causing them to tumble down the cliff side. Another rocket sped out, and Ahsoka spotted the rocket soldier, and shot him in the neck, causing him to tumbled backwards in pain. The rocket slammed into a Forgotten Humvee, destroying it and sending the gunner flying to his death.

"Scorpion Tanks! INCOMING!" shouted the Forgotten officer.

A pair of Scorpion Tanks rolled up, blocking the passage. The Mammoth Tank blasted the first one, then the second, with four shots for each tank. However, the road was now blocked. Of course, that was also a boon, as more Nod forces wouldn't be able to climb in or roll tanks over to engage them.

A Carryall appeared overhead, and out of it, several Militants and a Confessor began to rappel down to the battlefield from it.

"Shoot that Carryall down!" shouted the Forgotten officer, turning his minigun towards it. Ahsoka aimed at the vulnerable engines, and with several well-placed shots, sent the Carryall, and the remaining Militants, tumbling into the cliff, and the Carryall exploded as it crashed. The last Nod units were quickly picked off and killed. The Forgotten had taken moderate casualties, but they still maintained most of their fighting force.

"That's all of them!" the Forgotten officer shouted, reloading his minigun. "Hey, Demo, set the C4 on the tanks in the way, would you?"

A Forgotten soldier rushed up to the blasted Scorpion tanks, set C4 on them, and detonated it once they were at a safe distance.

"Lieutenant," the Forgotten officer said, talking to Ahsoka, "You want to drive the Mammoth?"

"Sure." Ahsoka said, almost eager. The X-66 Mammoth had a one-up over the more modern Mammoth-27… it only called for one crewman, as the rest of it was automated. However, to, from a certain point of view, save costs and to make sure GDI got the most of their money, the more modern Mammoth tanks called for whole crews. Although it had improved efficiency, the extra cost of training soldiers hadn't saved much from the GDI treasury, the cost breaking about even. However, as reclamation allowed them to refine extra credits to pay and train the crewmen, it relieved some of the burden on the GDI Tiberium silos, as more would be used. So in a sense, it saved GDI from having the Tiberium silos get overloaded with refined Tiberium by having more people needed to crew tanks, thus more needing to be used for the training and paying them.

Popping the tank's hatch open, the Forgotten driver nodded, and said, "Good, I never liked driving tanks anyways." He hopped out, and Ahsoka slid into the tank, and activated the controls.

"Alright Lieutenant, take point, you're in the armor, after all."

"Got it." Ahsoka answered, waiting for the other Forgotten to get clear of the road, then took point. A Nod Raider Buggy patrol drove towards them, shooting, but Ahsoka blasted them apart.

"Hey, Black Hand Harvester at 12' o' clock!" shouted the Forgotten officer.

"Orca Six to Lieutenant Tano, I'm inbound to give you some help." An Orca Gunship sped in and opened fire on the Harvester, damaging it considerably. "Orca Six, returning to rearm."

"Thanks, Orca six." Ahsoka responded, blasting the Harvester apart with the Mammoth Tank's dual 125 millimeter guns. Continuing the drive forward, they finally reached the base.

A simple wall protected it along the road, and it was built near the cliff side. An Obelisk of Light was deployed, and powered up.

"Orca Four, going in to take out the Obelisk- HOLY CRAP! SAM sites! Aborting run! Oh fuck!"

The Orca flew in, but quickly tried to disengage as three SAM launchers popped out of the ground. The Orca sped to earth as its engines where hit and exploded, and then it crashed. The pilot did not try to push the canopy off… he was dead.

"Lieutenant, General McNeil here. I can't risk more Orcas until you take out those SAMs."

"Understood." Ahsoka responded, aiming for the SAM hub. The dual rockets of the X-66 Mammoth caused damage to it. Several Forgotten soldiers pulled out mortars, and launched several warheads. They rained down on the SAM site, and destroyed the Hub, with the other SAM launchers self destructing.

"**SAM Site Destroyed."** EVA dully registered.

"Good work Lieutenant!" McNeil shouted, "Orcas inbound!"

In a three triangle formation, nine Orca Gunships flew in, and unleashed a barrage of rockets, reducing the Obelisk of Light to dust, and then blew up a pair of Flame Tanks rolling out to engage the Forgotten, as well as reducing the defensive gate to rubble.

Charging into the base, the Forgotten quickly cleaned the base of any remaining Nod militants. Ahsoka used the X-66 Mammoth's guns to blast the last two Scorpion tanks apart.

"Excellent work, Ahsoka." McNeil said, "I've contacted the Forgotten, and according to them, there should be some excellent data in this base."

"Understood, General. Thanks for the air support."

Ahsoka hung up, and leapt out of the Mammoth Tank, another Forgotten hopping into the tank. The Forgotten officer walked up, and nodded. "Thank you for your assistance, Lieutenant."

"No worries." Ahsoka responded, "Glad to help. So, they find it?"

"No… they've moved the crystal to another facility. We're still checking the data. We will inform General McNeil of our findings."

A Hammerhead helicopter flew in and landed, the cargo door opening. Nodding to the officer, Ahsoka walked onto the Hammerhead. As soon as she was onboard, the door shut and the Hammerhead took off.

-

-

_**Author's Notes: **As a note to the readers, the story is likely to end around the same time chonologically as Kane's Wrath, depending on circumstances. Consider the next couple chapters the interbellum between the end of the C&C 3 campaign and the last two missions in Kane's Wrath._


	18. Chapter 18: Beachhead

_General McNeil, you're going to be put in charge of liberating Australia. General Mitchell will support you with the Steel Talons walkers, and engage the mainline Nod forces, while you focus on the Black Hand. Burn down all Nod forces in Australia and scatter the ashes._

Rex to General Michael McNeil, on removing Nod from Australia

**Chapter 18: Beachhead**

**GDS **_**Valkyrie**_

**Just off the Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

A GDI Hammerhead landed on the aircraft carrier, and Ahsoka walked out. She glanced at the control tower, McNeil gestured for her to come up._ Wonder what he wants._Ahsoka wondered as she entered the tower.

Walking in, Ahsoka saluted McNeil, who returned it, and said, "At ease."

McNeil walked towards the tactical screen. "The data you recovered from the Black Hand base is going to be useful. Besides the usual troop movements, it details an intense purification campaign by the Black Hand. We've identified a new and key member of the Black Hand."

A picture of the same female Black Hand disciple whom Ahsoka faced off with at _Shogun's Alley_ appeared, in a mug shot profile, the name 'Teresa' next to the identification picture.

"This, Lieutenant, is the reported new leader of the Black Hand. InOps reports that she's reforming the organization into a 'true elite guard' of the Brotherhood. She's had considerable luck, partially due to her inherit charisma, and partially due to her record of success in the Black Hand. She's a bit of a combat underdog; she has, reportedly, proven to be more capable than most Black Hand disciples tagged her when recruited. I hear you're acquainted with her?"

"The slut and I have met." Ahsoka answered. "She's gotta pay for what she's done."

"Agreed. We're about to launch an attack on a coastal base, where we've confirmed the Black Hand has a 'religious conditioning' facility… Brainwashing, propaganda blasted at them… the works."

"Torture, in other words. What are we waiting for, let's go!" Ahsoka said, walking out towards the door.

"Hang on." McNeil said, holding his hand up, "We're getting the last squads and our armor ready for landing, just wait fifteen minutes and we can hit the beach"

"They're torturing and killing civilians, General, every second we waste means more are going to die."

"I know, but without our Mammoths Tanks or a ConYard to deploy and set up our foothold, we can't hope to land and keep an assault going. It'll just make rescuing the civilians harder if we strike now."

-

Ahsoka sighed, "Very well." And thusly, she walked out.

McNeil looked to his new EVA operator, "Contact General Mitchell, tell him I need those Titians _now_!"

Three minutes later, he heard a splash, and looked out the window in time to see some water fall back into the sea. _Someone must of dropped an ammo crate._ McNeil decided.

"Uh… sir." The EVA operator said, "We got a problem…"

"What is it?" McNeil asked, almost afraid. A screen appeared on the display… Ahsoka was swimming swiftly towards the coast, almost there.

"The Lieutenant has… taken a dip."

"Damn it, I hate to lose." McNeil muttered as comprehension dawned on him, "Launch our initial landing force after she reaches the beach."

"General?"

"You have your orders… and get me the Director… tell him that he needs to reign his daughter in before I have to have her court marshaled…"

"Sir… she's a commando and she's logging a 'sabotage' mission... I think she's making a move to give our landing an easier shot."

"So be it." McNeil said, sighing as he watched the Hover Transports prepare to launch.

Four minutes later, Ahsoka leapt out of the water and walked onto the beach, and cocked her Rail Carbine.

-

**GDI Landing Zone  
Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka cocked the Rail Carbine and rushed forward. Nod Militants were setting up defenses to stop the GDI landing they knew was imminent. She leapt over a barricade, and landed shooting, taking a trio of Militants out. GDI Hover Transports rushed towards the beach, GDI infantry by the plenty. GDI Gunboats came by and opened fire on the Nod forward base, while Orcas flew in and blasted apart Nod tanks. The Hover Transports were getting closer to the landing zone, but she'd have to do the initial grunt work alone.

Ahsoka rushed up to a hill, where a SAM site was setting up to open fire on the Orcas. Ripping open the hatch and shooting the insides out, the SAM site self destructed.

"**SAM Site Destroyed."** EVA dully said.

An Attack Bike skidded as it turned to fire on Ahsoka, but it was destroyed by an Orca's rocket. GDI landed on the beaches, plenty of Riflemen rushing forward and overrunning the Militants by virtue of their superior equipment and training… which, when combined with Ahsoka handling their rag tag defenses with near effortlessness, meant GDI's beachhead was easy as pie. A trio of Scorpion tanks rolled up, but the GDI Missile troopers blasted them apart.

"I'll be damned Ahsoka… you got us a beachhead." McNeil said via radio. "Now get up and blast some Nod roadblocks apart for us."

A Hammerhead flew in, and several GDI soldiers came out, carrying supply crates. On one was C4. Ahsoka walked up to the crate, and took a satchel of C4 charges. Several Predator Tanks were also landed, and a few APCs also landed to transport the infantry.

As Ahsoka advanced along the road, plenty of Nod militants tried to get in the way, but with GDI forces coming up right behind her, there was little they could do to stop the advance, many soon lying on the ground with bleeding, smoking holes in various places, most often the chest.

"Lieutenant…" McNeil began, "SkySentry reports a tunnel system. Given how much I hate being flanked by subterranean Nod forces, you're going to get in there and sabotage it."

"Understood." Ahsoka slid to the side and kicked a mine door open, shooting a pair of Nod Militants in the way. She entered a large underground chamber. For two minutes, she continued down into the tunnel.

"**Tiberium Life Form Detected!"** EVA warned suddenly.

"Grah! Visceroid!" shouted a Nod Militant, "Kill it!"

A three legged, red skinned creature spat some liquid Tiberium at the first Militant, melting him down, and the second one was mauled dead by the Visceroid. It noticed Ahsoka, but she shot it dead with the Rail Carbine. She glanced around… _and underground Tiberium mine…_ she realized, _Nod must be harvesting it to make ammo or something like that…_ she glanced around, and noticed one of the dead militants had a personal rocket launcher and munitions for it... Taking it, dusting it, and strapping it and a few small rockets to her belt, she advanced, taking out several Nod militants who got in the way with quick, lethal shots.

Finally, she located the main chamber. A group of Black Hand Disciples were present; guarding several workers… some of them, most of them, looked like slaves. Ahsoka cocked the Rail Carbine, and aimed, then took the shot, taking out one of the Disciples.

"Burn her!" one of the others shouted as he saw his comrade fall, and the Disciples rushed at Ahsoka. Reloading the carbine, she quickly shot them down, but one got close enough and opened fire with his flamethrower.

Ahsoka shouted in pain as the fire assaulted her armor and the sheer heat made it through, but the armor otherwise held. The GDI logo and her stamped name were burned off, the chest plate blackened, charred, but it was better than being burned alive. Hurling the surviving Black Hand Disciple into the wall with a Force push, she shot him in the chest, and he went limp.

"Thanks for the rescue!" shouted one of the captives, "We were being assigned to building living quarters, there's a passage out to the village! Follow me!"

"Hang on, need to sabotage the tunnel, after that, let me take the lead," Ahsoka said, "None of you are armed, I am. Just tell me where to go."

"Alright then," he said. Ahsoka quickly set the C4. The leading captive pointed towards a tunnel, "That way, take a left first thing."

Running into no trouble, Ahsoka lead them clear of the tunnel within eight minutes.

"General McNeil, send a transport to pick up some civvies," Ahsoka explained after opening a link to McNeil, "I just rescued some from the tunnels. Looks like the Black Hand was building a catacomb system."

"Right, stand by… hang on, SAM sites. GDI tanks inbound to protect the prisoners, but we need the SAM sites removed."

The Predator Tanks rolled up, trading salvos with the Nod forces, the infantry keeping the civilians back and out of harms way. Ahsoka rushed to the side, and turned towards the SAM sites mounted on the cliff. Several Nod infantry attempted to stop her, but they were mowed down, smoking holes in their chests. Ahsoka placed a C4 charge on the SAM site hub, got clear, and detonated it.

"**SAM site destroyed."** EVA dully said.

_No kidding…_Ahsoka thought, wondering why EVA was registering every SAM site that got destroyed.

An Ox transport came in low, and the civilians got onboard, and the Ox flew out towards the Aircraft Carrier to keep them safe. Ahsoka detonated the C4 set in the cavern. A plume of fire roared out of the cave she had exited.

"Lieutenant, there's another beachhead up ahead of the road. Our Mammoth Tank wave must come in closer to the Nod base, but we can't send in our gunboats because of several heavy cannon emplacements. InOps suggest that they're similar to our Juggernauts, except non-mobile, and only two 300 millimeter guns. Destroy the Nod turrets."

"Understood, they'll be gone right away." Ahsoka hung up, and continued on.

Nod was falling back now, hoping to hold at their post on the beach. In the distance, GDI Battleships were trying to trade volleys with Nod Specter artillery vehicles and the heavy guns.

"Take out those Specters, we've managed to disable their cloaking with a radar scan, but we need them gone before they sink our Battleships." McNeil ordered.

Ahsoka rushed up to the first Specter, and set a C4 charge on it, then repeated with the next one. A Black Hand Disciple tried to activate his flamethrower and burn Ahsoka alive, but she shot him in the head before he could get his flamethrower to work. Putting some distance between her and the Specters, she detonated the C4, and watched them explode. A GDI Battleship in the distance began to sink as it took a direct hit.

"Hey, GDI Commando on the flank,_ get her!_"

Ahsoka reloaded the Rail Carbine and shot the militant who noticed her. Several more Militants rushed forward, but they were shot dead quickly. Ahsoka rushed to the turrets, leaping away as the GDI Battleships volleyed again. Reaching the turrets, she set C4 on the guns, and got clear, then detonated the C4. The massive guns exploded spectacularly as the C4 blew their heavy munitions far apart.

"**Reinforcements; en route."** EVA reported.

Several Hover Transports sped in, and a group of Titians marched off, Mammoth Tanks being brought in a minute behind them. GDI gunboats came in closer to the coast, opening fire on Nod forces with moderate range rockets and their triple 155 millimeter cannon. A reinforced Ox transport came in, and landed. A Titian, legs bent in a sitting position, was landed near Ahsoka's position.

"I've sent you a Titian." McNeil explained. "Use it to support our advance."

Ahsoka grinned as she leapt in, and turned it on. The Titian activated like a charm. The other Titians marched up the beach, blasting Nod survivors on the way.

Advancing to the inland, Ahsoka entered a narrow crevice and cliff. As she reached a cliff face, a Venom appeared right in front of her. Without hesitation, Ahsoka fired at the now-level Venom, hitting its stabilizer and causing it to tip to the left, the pilot forced to turn to the right to avoid spiraling out of control.

"**Nod Aircraft detected!"**

"Bit late EVA," Ahsoka said as she finished the Venom off with a shot to the cockpit, the cockpit exploding and the Venom crashed on the road, exploding from the inside. Marching the Titian over the Venom's wreckage, she continued on and down into the valley. A barricade of Reckoners were deployed at a high point, Scorpion tanks right behind them, machine gun fire and tank shells flying from the barricade and towards the GDI forces advancing. If GDI was to pass them and advance up out of the valley, they would have to bypass these Reckoners.

"Hold on, air strike inbound." McNeil said, and sure enough, a shield trio of Firehawks streaked in and dropped nine Hellcat bombs. Suddenly, the barricade exploded spectacularly, sending shrapnel all over the place. Several pieces landed on Ahsoka's Titian, but the armor held effortlessly. The Reckoner bunkers were still intact, but a group of Orcas flew in and finished them off, blowing the Militants within to dust. GDI's advance continued unhindered as Mammoth Tanks began to roll up to support them.

In the sky, lightning began to lance across the sky, and heavy rain fell. Still, the ORCA technology had advanced considerably since the First Tiberium War, and thus Orca Gunships and Firehawks were able to resume operations despite the heavy storm.

"Lieutenant, there's a guard post up ahead. A walker certified soldier is going to take control of your Titian for a while, get into that guard post, and take a sniper rifle. Nod's called in a reinforcement party and we need some cover until we can get our own snipers into position."

"Got it General," Ahsoka responded as she powered the Titian down, the walker sitting down, and hatch opening. She leapt out, a soldier hopping into the walker and reactivating it. Ahsoka rushed into the guard tower, climbing up the ladder. A discarded sniper rifle was there, and with a couple shots left. Loading it and checking the scope, she walked to the window. Sure enough, twenty Black Hand Disciples were coming out to engage GDI, and backed with plenty of Militants. Aiming for the head of the first Disciple, she took the shot. The Disciple collapsed without a sound besides the bang of the rifle. Headshot. She aimed at the next one… headshot. Headshot. She aimed at the next one… and aimed three feet lower… as she took the shot, he collapsed, and rolled around in pain as his crotch was blasted apart.

With a feral grin, Ahsoka reloaded the sniper rifle, and resumed sniping the Black Hand forces charging up. Mammoth Tanks finally arrived, and hitching a ride, Snipers, who added their expert shots to the wall of fire. The infantry rush broke, and Ahsoka unloaded the Sniper rifle, leaving it for a GDI sniper. She slid down the ladder, and walked out of the guard post.

"Lieutenant," McNeil said, "Our recon is being jammed by a Nod Disruption Tower. Its fluctuating power signature is interfering with our radar, and to a lesser degree, Battlefield Control. Disable it. Permanently."

"I'm on it, General. Taking point."

Creeping along the battle and leaving the GDI advance behind, she advanced forward in leaps and bounds. As she spotted the Disruption Tower, she noticed a number of Nod militants guarding it. Nod SAM sites was launching rockets into the sky, trying to stop GDI Firehawk runs on the Disruption Tower and Nod patrols and counterstrike groups. Ahsoka set a C4 charge on the first SAM site, got clear, and let it detonate.

"**SAM Site Destroyed."** EVA registered.

"Hey, EVA, you don't need to register every SAM site I destroy!" Ahsoka finally shouted, annoyed.

Another SAM site nearby exploded as a Firehawk blew it to pieces.

"**SAM Site Destroyed."**

Ahsoka gave a frustrated sigh as she turned to fight her way through the twenty four Militants guarding the Disruption Tower.

"Get that demon!" shouted one of the Militants who, finally, noticed her. The Militants charged, but Ahsoka rolled behind a rock formation, kneeled behind it, and mowed them down one by one. When the last one dropped, she leapt over and set C4 on the Disruption Tower. Getting clear, she detonated it. It exploded, sending its three 'claws' in all different directions. A group of Militants rushed out of a nearby cave, probably sleeping beforehand, and opened fire. Ahsoka rolled out of the way of the first volley, and shot them down too.

"Lieutenant, we're detecting a Nod spearhead ahead. Blunt the tip, would you?"

"Ten-Four General." Ahsoka responded, reloading. A Flame Tank was ahead… Ahsoka pulled out the personal rocket launcher, strapping the Rail Carbine to her belt, and aimed. One rocket later, the Flame Tank exploded as the rocket hit its volatile fuel tanks. Several Militants nearby screamed in pain as they were burned alive. Advancing swiftly up the hill, the storm grew more intense. Firehawks and Orcas flew in and out, making runs and dodging missiles.

"**Nod Avatar Detected!"**EVA warned, and sure enough, an Avatar Warmech marched up… but with no modifications. _Now I _really_ wish I made a new lightsaber…_Ahsoka decided as she took a hesitant step back. Remembering Fullerton's C4 trick with the Scrin tripods, she rushed forward, dodging a laser blast from the Avatar, and slapped a C4 charge to its leg. Getting clear, she detonated the C4, and watched the Avatar collapse. She continued on, and saw the base.

Fully enclosed with a twenty feet high, five foot thick concrete wall with black-stained steel armor, the base looked much more than a simple outpost. No Obelisks of Light, fortunately, but several Laser Turrets appeared and began to open fire at Ahsoka. Dodging out of the way, she spotted several hands from what looked to be four Hands of Nod, and in the center, a giant statue of Kane, spitting out his propaganda, and just behind it, a Nod temple.

"_Rejoice, Children of Nod!"_the statue then began yet another speech. Ahsoka leapt up, and gripped the top of the wall. Pulling herself up, she looked around, and was surprised to see how many Militants there were. It was as if the nearby towns had been swept clean and brainwashed… Black Hand Confessors were organizing them into groups and assisting them in using their weapons, while Disciples patrolled. One on the wall spotted her, and rushed her with his flamethrower. Ahsoka didn't hesitate, lifting him with the Force; she hurled him down into a group of Militants, his flamethrower's tanks exploding as they were slammed into the solid concrete pavement, the shock of the 25 foot fall causing the flamethrower fuel to explode, burning the militants alive.

"General," Ahsoka said, activating her wrist EVA's communications, "There's a lot of Militants, we need grenadiers!"

"Understood, Grenadiers en route." McNeil responded, "We're picking up a lot of chatter in that Nod temple. Get inside and blow it to hell from the inside out. A Hammerhead is inbound with an Ion Cannon beacon for you, have fun with it."

A Hammerhead flew in, spraying bullets at the Militants with its twin Vulcan cannons, and the back hatch opened.

"Lieutenant! Catch!" shouted a soldier at the hatch as bullets began to fly up. He threw a small cylindrical item, and Ahsoka effortlessly caught it. The Hammerhead flew away quickly as rockets began to speed into the sky.

_This'll be fun…_Ahsoka decided as she slid the Ion Cannon beacon into her belt pouch. She ran across the wall, and leapt down, rolling forward. Nod Militants attempted to react, but she was too swift, running and dodging them, occasionally taking shots with her Rail Carbine. She leapt up, somersaulting, and smashed a window in the Nod temple open, landing on her feet. Heading deeper inside and taking down a pair of Black Hand Disciples standing guard, she heard talking…

"Sister Teresa, we cannot defend this position much longer, GDI has landed a full invasion force, and we are in desperate need of assistance." The voice was definitely male, and deep.

"You doubt Kane's orders, Brother?" a woman asked. _Probably Teresa,_Ahsoka decided, creeping forward.

"No, of course not, but we cannot hold them long."

"Then make preparations, leave nothing for GDI."

"Yes, Sister."

Ahsoka stood up, walked in, and shot the man, a Confessor, in the neck, causing him to collapse shouting "Infidel!" A holotransmitter was there, a red hologram of Teresa, in full armor, sans the helmet. She glared at Ahsoka. "Why do you dare come here?"

"To end your little gang." Ahsoka retorted as she shot the holotransmitter, causing it to explode, the hologram fizzling out.

Ahsoka quickly rushed to one of the computers and activated it. Not much data… _What's so important here? Or did she mean to wire the whole place to blow?_

She looked around, then up. The red stained glass window on the top of the temple was visible. Ahsoka grinned in a feral manner. Setting the Ion Cannon beacon directly under the center, where the Nod symbol was, she activated it.

"**Ion Cannon in Ten…"**

Ahsoka sprinted outside.

"**Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four…"**

Leaping out of the window, she landed with a grunt as she somersaulted forward to avoid breaking her legs. The Nod militants were ready and opened fire.

"**Three… Two… One…"**

Ahsoka leapt up onto one of the power plants, causing the Nod militants, with their crossing lines of fire, to shoot each other like idiots, several stray shots capable of hitting anyways.

Suddenly, eight beams of blue light blasted into the Earth, and began to circle, vaporizing militants and burning the temple. Ahsoka leapt further back, reaching the wall. With a near-Earth-shattering kaboom, the Ion Cannon blasted the Temple and nearby militants straight to hell, leaving wreckage and debris scattered about. An explosion rocked the wall, and a part of it came down. Mammoth Tanks rolled in, firing their dual Rail Guns at anything Nod. Titians followed up, and Hammerheads sped in low and fast, mowing down the infantry hordes, grenades flying out of their view ports as GDI Grenadiers, riding onboard, dropped them by the dozen, sending Nod militants still alive flying away like dust in a windstorm.

"Lieutenant, we've located the prisoners. They're in an underground tunnel behind the base, blocked with a laser fence. Take out the fence and we can clear the underground facility."

"Understood General." Ahsoka responded, heading there while GDI forces cleaned up. Shooting the generators for the fence, she walked in, killing several Black Hand Disciples and a Confessor that tried to stop her.

"Whoa!" shouted one of the prisoners, an Australian man, "What the hell are you?"

"Lieutenant Ahsoka Tano, GDI." She opened the cell doors.

"About damn time." The man responded as he walked out of his cell, casting an angry glare at her. "Where were you guys, sipping vodka?"

"No, we were busy fighting our way up here, and before we could even start that we had to deal with the alien invasion." Ahsoka retorted.

"Yuh-huh." The man retorted, storming out. Other prisoners followed; often supporting each other… a few giving Ahsoka fearful looks.

Walking out, she saw that GDI had gained control of the situation, and Ox transports and Hammerheads were landing to pick up the civilians and get them out of there. She walked towards the GDI forces, intent on assisting with cleanup.

McNeil then pinged Ahsoka's EVA, and text was now visible:** Return to the **_**Valkyrie**_** for debriefing.**

"Pilot, you able to give me a lift?" Ahsoka asked one of the Hammerhead pilots.

"Yes ma'am, hop on." The pilot responded, and Ahsoka got on.

-

**GDS **_**Valkyrie**_

**Just off the Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka walked off the Hammerhead, and glanced at the control tower. McNeil wasn't there… a MP walked up.

"Ma'am, General McNeil wants to see you down in interrogation."

Ahsoka nodded, and walked down. McNeil was in the interrogation room, interrogating a Black Hand Disciple.

"Tell me where the Black Hand is hiding, and it'll be quick and painless!" McNeil shouted at him.

"I… will never… talk." The Disciple responded as Ahsoka walked in.

"Lieutenant," McNeil nodded, "I want you to help me… interrogate this jackass."

Ahsoka nodded, then gently extended her awareness towards the Disciple… she sensed fanatical commitment… _Great… no mind tricks, this guy's fanatical enough that strength of mind is redundant. Playing on their religious beliefs should work though…_

Ahsoka walked up to him, and asked, casually, "So, your so-called savior tell you that you were going to pay the devil a visit in Hell today?"

"Uegh, what?" the Disciple asked, surprised.

"Oh? You didn't hear? The Black Hand issued a new edict… where did I put the copy they so generously left open for us to find…" taking an air of poisoned honey, she tapped her EVA system a few times to buy her time. "Ah! Here it is!" clearing her throat, Ahsoka recited the completely made up edict, "_All Black Hand Disciples captured by GDI will know the fires of Hell because of their surrender, until they repent_."

Positive fear registered in the Disciple's eyes as he caught on… and that confusion gave Ahsoka all she needed. "Now, you _will_ tell us what we want to know." She did not only say it, she extended her awareness to the Disciple's mind, forcing the suggestion into his confused and surprised brain. She kept pressure on his brain, making sure he talked.

"I… will tell you what you want to know." The Disciple responded blankly, as if in a trance.

"Tell us everything you know about the Black Hand's new leader and current operations." McNeil ordered.

In a trance-like way, the disciple began to talk… "Black Hand… reformation… Teresa… saving the Hand… from damnation… Kane gave her his blessing… purifying the… Australian population… and readying… Black Hand… for Kane's plans…" he blanked out, and fell backwards, landing on the floor. Ahsoka winced. _Bit too much pressure…_ she decided.

McNeil sighed as the Disciple began to snore. "Nice new trick by the way, Lieutenant. Mutation I presume?"

"Yeah." Ahsoka lied back. _Don't trust McNeil enough yet…_ she decided.

"Right… we'll have InOps look into it, for now, we continue with keeping Nod from hitting civilians."

-

**One hour Later…**

Ahsoka walked into the mechanical bay. The Forgotten had showed up with some of their equipment in need of repairs. She noticed an X-66 Mammoth tank being repaired.

"There's no way that the oldie managed to fry several of those light Scorpions!" shouted a GDI engineer. "No effing way!"

"That's because while it uses the original caliber guns, we switched the ammunition. A refinement of Tiberium with a different, more modernized warhead." Responded a Frogotten engineer, calmly. He nodded to Ahsoka as she approached, "Lieutenant."

"And for the record," Ahsoka said, glancing at the engineer's ID, "Corporal, the Scorpions did go out to the X-66… though apparently not as scot free as I thought." Ahsoka looked the tank up and down, noticing several damaging dings and dents that she missed while inside. _Those things do have thick armor…_

"Still," the engineer responded, "Relying on different ammo is a _bad_ idea."

"When you have to salvage much of your equipment, say that again." The Forgotten engineer responded.

-

**The Evening**

**GDS **_**Valkyrie**_

**Off the Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka flicked through the channels in the GDI Recreation room, she drew short straw that night, so she had to deal with the conflicting interests of GDI soldiers for what to watch tonight. _I swear,_ she thought as she looked for something that wasn't horrible and would be acceptable,_Earth has more TV channels than half of the Republic did… movies, cartoons, anime, comedy, drama, soap opera…_As she reached a less-used channel, she caught sight of something that caught her eye… turning back to it, she blinked. Nod symbols appeared in the corners, and the words 'Today's Execution' printed on the bottom of the screen. Fading to black, it cued to a Nod studio with the Nod logo giant-sized in the back. A woman with long blonde hair was sitting at the news desk. She looked familiar somehow… A name, Oxanna Kristos, popped into Ahsoka's mind. _Right… old Anton Slavik's intel officer._

"Huh," said one of McNeil's soldiers, Ricardo Vega, "_Today's Execution_ is still on? Thought Kane abandoned that program for propaganda and switched to jumping onto GDI's channel."

"Guess not." Ahsoka said, "Let's see what the enemy is saying about us, eh?"

A general murmur of agreement, one of the soldiers whispering, "And so we know what to mock Nod with tomorrow."

"Good welcome, citizens." Oxanna began, "Today is a tragic day. GDI, in yet another showing of terrorism and oppression, destroyed a monastery meant to bring education and hope to those without. Leading the assault was the terrorist McNeil, villain of the Second Tiberium War."

Some Nod side battle footage from the day's battle was shown, but much of it was static… still, it was enough to prove there was a battle. The GDI soldiers snorted at the word 'terrorism'.

"However, today, the traitor Marcion was captured as he tried to flee, and is scheduled for execution. We all keep our fingers crossed as we hope it's painful. We now take you live to the execution."

The camera cued to a Nod building, where a _very_large number of Militants, likely thousands, were seated, watching Teresa on the stage, Marcion held by a pair of Confessors, their expressions masked by their helmets.

"Today, the traitor Marcion faces Kane's wrath!" Teresa shouted out boldly, a Tiberium-edged dagger in her hand. "The treason shall be; cut; **out**!" With that, she slit Marcion's throat. He gagged, surprised, and collapsed.

"Peace; through, _**power!**_" Teresa shouted energetically, and the crowd of militants began to echo the cry, them repeating it over and over.

Cutting back to the news station, Oxanna smiled, "His body shall be left for the vultures, a fitting end for the betrayer of Kane. His role has been replaced with Sister Teresa, of the Black Hand, and she promises, and has already begun to fulfill the promise, of reformation of the Black Hand. Macrionist Black Hand soldiers still try to resist, but are quickly and swiftly removed. We will return after the break, and discuss the recent shift in power within GDI."

As various ads cut, Ahsoka switched the channel to Cartoon Network, and Family Guy was on.

"So…" Vega said, breaking the silence of the GDI soldiers, "Nod's having another internal power struggle eh?"

"Seems so, Vega." McNeil said, entering. "Alright then, we keep the civilians safe, and let Nod destroy itself and take advantage of this infighting. Lieutenant, come here a minute."

Ahsoka got up, and walked towards McNeil, who pulled her to the side, and whispered, "InOps told me that SkySentry reports that they've seen a division of GDI troops heading to a large town inland. We've hailed them, but their radio seems to be out. I want you to head in and link up with them. I personally want to hope that they were left behind when we evacuated Australia, but I need you confirm this, or figure out the real identity of these people. I got a bad, gut feeling about this."

"Alright. When do I leave?" Ahsoka asked.

"Soon as possible."

Ahsoka nodded, and left. As she went down the hallway, she heard the GDI soldiers cue back to _Today's Execution_, and McNeil said, "Now who turned on my favorite show without telling me?" the question was followed by a series of hesitant chuckles, as GDI soldiers tried to figure out how serious McNeil was.

-

**The Next Morning**

**Western Australian Outback**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka put the brakes on the Attack Bike she had 'borrowed' from a Nod Militant and checked the tracks. _Fresh Predator tank tracks…_Ahsoka decided as she put her hand on them. _Can't be much farther… good thing too, I'm running out of gas on this thing… Nod didn't exactly build its vehicles with good mileage in mind, did they? Well, given how prevalent and easy to acquired Tiberium derived fuels are these days, I suppose good mileage is redundant. Still, I don't exactly carry a mobile gas station in my munitions belt…_

Mounting the bike once more, she put the pedal to the medal, following the trail. The trail continued for an hour, the gas getting more and more dangerously low… finally, as she reached a turn onto the main road, where the reported GDI forces had turned, the bike sputtered out. The brakes automatically kicked in, the front wheel sticking and the back end coming up. Ahsoka leapt forward, clearing the handlebars. The bike collapsed, and Ahsoka landed a few feet ahead of it. Sighing, she glanced to the west, towards the nearest town. The tracks became more numerous as she walked along the road… and there were fields of Tiberium along side the barren countryside.

_Supposedly,_Ahsoka thought as she walked along, _the Outback used to be beautiful… guess I'll never know._

Three long and tiring hours later, she finally spotted the town…

And rising from it, was smoke… with GDI tanks blasting apart civilian vehicles and soldiers looting and burning homes.

_What the stang is going on?_Ahsoka wondered, bewildered at the blatant violence, _Someone's gotta stop this… and McNeil won't get here in time…_

She checked the clip on her Rail Carbine, finding it fully loaded, and rushed towards the town... and she knew what she had to do.

-

**_Author's Notes:_ Defined 'Borrowed' as you wish.**


	19. Chapter 19: The Hand Revealed

_When we are crushing the black hearts of our oppressors, we will find our hands blackened. We cannot cultivate our garden without digging in the dirt._

Kane, when the Black Hand was formed.

**Chapter 19: The Hand Revealed**

**Small Australian Town**

**Western Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka was horrified as she saw the GDI forces in the town destroying it. She rushed in, and opened fire, shooting three Riflemen who were looting a shop.

"What the hell?" shouted one of the 'GDI' soldiers, whirling around. "Aw fuck, it's a Commando!"

"Oh man," said another one, "We're so fucked now…"

Ahsoka shot both of them dead mercilessly, and continued on. A mother and child were running away as a Predator Tank pursued them, firing tank shells that were missing… but barely. Ahsoka leapt onto the tank, and ripped its hatch open, then shot it from the inside out, killing the crew. The two civilians ran as fast as they could away. Ahsoka spotted a 'GDI' sniper taking aim, but before he could get a shot off, Ahsoka shot him in the chest, causing him to fall out the window twenty feet. He landed with a sickening splat, and did not move again.

Creeping forward, she saw and shot several more rampaging 'GDI' soldiers. As she advanced through the town, she realized how much damage they had done: The town was on fire, and many civilians lay dead, smoking holes left in their bodies by GD-2 laser rounds.

A pair of Predator tanks advanced on her, opening fire. Leaping backwards, dodging the 150 millimeter shells, she pulled a C4 charge out, then leapt forward, leaving the charge on the left tank. She leapt onto the other one, and set a C4 charge on it too. Leaping clear, she set the C4 off, causing the two tanks to explode.

"Get her!" shouted another 'GDI' soldier, a dozen 'GDI' soldiers, ten riflemen, two missile troopers, charging her, firing their weapons. Ahsoka leapt clear, and shot them down with her Rail Carbine.

With no mercy, she took out every 'GDI' soldier she could find, often catching them in the act of terrorizing or looting the town.

At long last… the raiding 'GDI' soldiers retreated, hopping onto APCs or Predator Tanks, and leaving as fast as they could. The APC machine guns kept Ahsoka from perusing, but she had repelled them.

A man, old and injured, limped up towards her. Ahsoka, holstering her Rail Carbine, rushed up to him, and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yes…" the old man whispered… "I am… thanks to you."

"What happened?" Ahsoka asked. "There's no way these guys are GDI… this just isn't GDI's way of…"

"I don't know… but… you did what you could." The old man explained, "Find… the survivors… help them… survive… please…."

He collapsed, Ahsoka catching him. Leaning close to his face, she whispered, "I will."

The old man nodded, and collapsed back, eyes shutting. Laying him down gently, Ahsoka stood up. _Whoever these 'GDI' are,_ she thought, _they're going to have hell to pay when I find them._

As Ahsoka walked around town, she realized how thorough the raiders had been… there were dead men, women, and children, all civilians barring the raiding rogue 'GDI' she had shot, scattered about the town with smoking holes in their chests or heads…

Ahsoka shook her head, appalled at the senseless destruction. She spotted movement, advancing cautiously; she saw the innocent mother and child she had saved from a tank earlier.

The woman screamed as she saw Ahsoka, holding tightly to her child.

"Easy," Ahsoka said as soothingly as she could, "It's going to be alright…"

"Get back you… _demon!_" shouted the mother, waving Ahsoka away. "I should of known GDI was a bunch of fascists! Nod was right after all!"

Ahsoka sighed. _I really am not the one for public relations… hurts not being human in an all-human world… especially after an alien invasion…_

"Look, I don't want to hurt you, I'm trying to help evacuate the survivors before those rogue 'GDI' return." Ahsoka explained calmly, keeping her hands as far away from her weapons, which she hooked onto her belt, as possible.

"No!" the mother shouted, "You… you just want to get us all together to kill us! I'm not going with you!" She began to sob, distraught.

_There's nothing I can do…_ Ahsoka decided, _other than to try and find others._ Slowly backing away, so the mother knew Ahsoka didn't mean any harm, she began to leave. _Wait, I can do something for her._ Ahsoka pulled out her seal-tight auxiliary ration bars from her belt pouch, and her backup pistol, and, laying them on the ground, Ahsoka looked at the mother. The mother's eyes widened, but quickly steeled. Ahsoka backed away slowly, making sure it was clear she was non hostile. _I've done all I can, now I just have to keep hoping the Force looks after them._

As Ahsoka searched the blasted village, she realized how complete the destruction was… _By the Force, the only survivors were the two I encountered!_ The realization that GDI had failed smacked her hard in the face… the realization that she had failed to protect them. _Get out of that line of thought, girl._ Ahsoka thought to herself, _There was nothing you could do… you did all that you could._

She activated the wrist EVA, and opened a channel to McNeil.

"Lieutenant, what's the status?" McNeil asked, static blazed across the screen briefly.

"Rogue 'GDI'," Ahsoka stated, "They just destroyed a town almost to the last… the two survivors… don't trust us."

Static, "Damn it! Sending in an Ox" static, "you up. Stand" static "by, jamming making." Static, and it cut off.

-

**The Next Day**

**GDS **_**Valkyrie**_

**Off the Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

McNeil slammed his fist onto the desk of his office. "God **damn it**!" he shouted. "Who the hell were those scum?"

"I don't know," Ahsoka responded honestly, "But, I think that its rogue GDI… or Nod stole our equipment. I only found GDI equipment, but no official GDI ID cards."

A soldier knocked. "Sir, I think you should see this…" The soldier walked in and turned the video screen on. It was a Nod broadcast, with their news reporter, Oxanna, at the town, a sad look in her face.

"Yet another example of GDI's taste for the blood of innocents. This once thriving town was destroyed by a GDI raiding force," in the corner of the screen, recon shots of GDI forces looting the city were shown, "who were killed almost to the person. There were only two survivors, fortunate to survive."

The camera turned slightly, and the mother and child Ahsoka had rescued from the Predator Tank gone rogue were shown, haggard.

"GDI… betrayed us all," the mother said, "they… burned out homes…" she began to sob, putting a hand over her face, "Killed my… Kyle… OH!" she began to sob even harder. Oxanna shut her eyes, then said, "The Black Hand has sworn vengeance for these murders, and the GDI general behind this, McNeil, is going to be hunted down by the Brotherhood. Citizens, rise up against GDI, do not allow them to do to you, what they did to this village."

The video ended, McNeil looked at it, shell shocked.

"**Incoming Transmission."** EVA reported.

"Put it up." McNeil said, swallowing. Rex appeared on the screen, donning a standard GDI general's uniform, except there were no rank insignias.

"McNeil," Rex asked, "What the hell happened?"

"You'll have to ask the Lieutenant," McNeil responded, "She was there first hand."

Rex turned towards her, and nodded. Ahsoka quickly recounted what had happened, and finally said, "I think Nod captured a GDI base, and the blueprints for our equipment, it's the only explanation."

McNeil frowned… "There's no way they could of gotten past the codes… every ConYard has a unique code, there's only one override, and that lies in the Director's hands…"

"Nod must of captured it during the invasion and spent the last month or so trying to decode it." Rex said, "McNeil, finding that base and destroying it is top priority."

"Understood sir." McNeil said, rising. "It'll be dust when I'm done with it."

"Good." Rex nodded, then added, "GDI can't deny responsibility wholly, I'm going to have to find a way to counteract that without it being seen as your traditional black-versus-white."

Ahsoka bit her lip. _Rex isn't strong with politics… he's going to have to be careful…_

"For now, find that base, and destroy it. Deploy your squadrons McNeil, and send troops. Deploy Steel Talon marked equipment _only_, until we've secured the base. I suspect that these rogues use standard GDI insignias to make sure we think of them as friendlies."

"Understood," McNeil responded, and the transmission cut. Turning to Ahsoka, "Lieutenant, we've been interrogating Ajay, gently, of course, he told us a lot, we're going to sift through some of the data and ask him a few more questions, then send you to deal with the base. You'll have the support of our Talon units once it's located, we need to ground that base and pound it to Hell, make sure it's clear that GDI does not tolerate those who murder the innocent. After that, we can focus on the Black Hand."

Ahsoka saluted, and left, and walked down to the onboard barracks. Walking to her bunk, she slid the under-bed drawer open, and looked at the few things inside, a GDI transmitter, and a small photo taken from her time with the Steel Talons. The photo was taken in 2034, after they had destroyed a Nod base. Ahsoka and Rex were off to the sides. Despite her capabilities, her young age, at the time, had her officially a non-combatant aid, mostly just assisting with maintaining the equipment, though when needed, she surprised them all with her capability. When she finally reached 18 years of age, in 2035, she had become an official Steel Talons soldier. Those were the days she really began to feel alive again, back into the fray, and not just as a civilian by virtue of age. Ahsoka officially joined the GDI commandos in 2039, when she was finally 21 years old, the minimal age for a GDI commando due to its lethal training program. _That sure was difficult, even with Force powers. Honestly, I think that the only reason I managed was because of them._ She glanced, and noticed Vega's secret booze stash. She was only recently of drinking age, despite being 28 years old, because, apparently, due to new medical advances extending natural life spans by a good few decades, and a string of alcohol related incidents, the United Nations (back when it was still a power) passed a global act to increase the drinking age minimal, back in 2020. Although technically the official minimal was 28, some countries and later, Zones, were more lenient where GDI wasn't present, or, in Britain's case, because of tradition. _To think that around here, I'm still in my prime by years. _Ahsoka put the photo down. _I remember wanting to not get a photo taken at all…_ she thought finally, _Honestly, I'm thinking that fading into obscurity would be fine by me… actually, that'd be pretty practical. I'd be a freak case in the history texts._

She knew, of course, that was unlikely that she'd become another obscurity in history, especially with Rex, in official GDI records, being her father. _An amusing cover,_ Ahsoka mused, _given that I'm older than him by four years. Still,_ she decided, _I don't want to be famous… and if people's reaction to me is any indication, I'd be famous for all the wrong reasons._ She shut the drawer, and wondered how Rex was doing, being taken off the lines. _Probably not too bad, Sarah hasn't been sent back to the lines by ZOCOM. Something tells me Renteria is being surprisingly nice…_

-

**That Evening**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Rex sighed as he looked in the mirror. The civilian clothing that he wore, simple (but admittedly comfortable) blue jeans and a dark sweat shirt worn over a white shirt, contrasted greatly with his personality. _Still, she's not going to be wearing Zone armor in there, so why should I wear the white plastoid?_

He and Sarah were going to be going on a date that night, Rex had managed to finally clean up all the paperwork for that day, and issuing a statement about the rogue GDI forces going on a murder spree was tomorrow, so he decided to get some rest, visiting one of the restaurants Mitchell had suggested, Coral Seafood, on a date with Sarah sounded like a good way to do get some rest. _Hope she likes it…_ Rex decided. _Because honestly, this looks pretty bad on me._

He was, for once, glad that GDI paid him during his years with the Steel Talons, because he would be able to pay for the food. He was still paid as Director, of course, but he had declined a major paycheck increase that the GDI leader got, instead sticking with the reasonable pay he had gotten as a Steel Talon Captain (he had been promoted to a Commander at his transfer to 'vanilla' GDI), even insisting that they take most of the would-be pay and put towards refugee aid or medical supplies. This had, to Rex's amusement and vindication, surprised the councilors who had mentioned it to him, in fact, he was confident that they crapped their uncomfortable suits when they heard that. Rex honestly didn't need much, being born and bred to live off of standard military rations, and often, he usually donated a lot of the cash he earned towards the Steel Talons research or refugee aid convoys… yet Mitchell had apparently put aside some of the money he donated to the Talons to make sure Rex had a decent amount of funds to live off of if he ever had to leave the army. _Wonder if he figured I'd eventually wind up here…_ Rex wondered. _Probably not, but he must of known I'd either go far, or retire as I planned._

He shrugged, and asked, "How do I look EVA?"

"**Excellent, sir."** The EVA installed into his helmet responded. Rex looked at his battle worn helmet, which was facing him.

_I really hope they didn't program flattery into EVA systems…_ Rex decided as he looked at some of the details. That helmet had seen him through a lot… and now it was quite possible it was going to become another discarded piece of equipment, an old memento. His armor was hung up in the closet. Rex honestly felt odd not being in the usual armor, as if part of him was missing. _Be honest with yourself Rex, even 14 years of not being in the army you were meant to fight in hasn't knocked that feel out of you._ He wondered for a moment how Cody, Coric, Bly, Jet, Echo, Fives, and the whole, massive list of brothers were doing. _Or the Generals… the war has to be over by now, assuming time runs the same here._ Rex pushed the thought out of his mind for the time, _Come on Rex, it's a beautiful night, enjoy it while you can._

As he walked out, he made sure he had his wallet and his two pistols were concealed, safeties on. _Always be prepared. If you're to admit you're carrying a gun, admit to one, and carry a second._ Walking towards the exit of the officer's quarters (the only exception to his personal no-officer-quarters rule), a GDI soldier saluted. "Sir."

"At ease," Rex said with a slight smile, "If I'm needed, I got a wrist EVA." And indeed he did, concealed under his left shirt; he had a smaller wrist EVA system. While not as powerful as a traditional wrist EVA, it was more than enough to keep Rex in touch with GDI command.

"Understood sir." The soldier nodded, and Rex walked out.

As Rex exited a side door, he inhaled the fresh air. It was sweet to his nose. _After spending a lot of time under a helmet, you really wish for the fresh air. Wonder how long it'll be before I wish for the closed circulation of a helmet._

Sarah walked up to Rex, smiling. She wore simple jeans and a shirt, a light coat worn over it.

"You look beautiful." Rex said, smiling.

She smiled too, and responded, "Aw. I'm flattered."

The touch of sarcasm stung a bit… then Rex realized she was just giving him a hard time. _Probably need to re-read 'Compliments' in that book…_ "Shall we go then?" Rex asked. Sarah smiled, and nodded.

They walked down the street after clearing with the security guard. At that point, most people were in their homes, watching the news or eating dinner in their homes. As they walked down the street, the two got occasional looks.

"Sarah. I've always wondered, what made you join GDI in the first place?" Rex asked, curious. He always had wondered why those who didn't have to joined the army.

"Well," Sarah began, "I suppose part of it was heritage. Descended straight from Commander James Granger, who won the Second World War and defeated the Soviet Union for good. So I guess part of it is family legacy. The other part is that, well, the world needs everyone it can get to stop Tiberium. That's why I joined ZOCOM in particular. I was one of the first Zone Raiders trained back in 2041, in fact, I joined them directly from basic training."

_So, she joined at 18, two years after Ahsoka joined the Commandos._ Rex made a mental note on that. He wasn't sure why, but his mind began whirring, doing the math automatically. _She was born in 2023… seven years old when the Second Tiberium War began, and she's about… 24 now._ He then recalled what he had read, _And that means her… great-great-great grandfather, I think was the one who deployed the Chonoshpere for the first time… if he never deployed it, I might never of wound up here…_

Rex shoved out any thoughts of the fact that her family was, in a twisted sense, responsible for him being stuck on Earth; he knew it wasn't their fault.

"I remember hearing about that." Rex said, "Mitchell said the Raiders were a good call… though I question how exactly it was, to him, a good call at times."

Sarah chuckled lightly, "By that point, all men who had signed up for ZOCOM were Zone Troopers, so the only ones left to fill the role of the Zone Raider were women."

"Still, from a tactical standpoint," Rex said, "Is it really that important weather it's a male or a female that's being stuffed into a suit of powered armor?"

"Tactically, it isn't, but it is for the fans." Sarah answered, winking.

Rex wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. As they neared Coral Seafood, Rex noticed something in a dark alleyway… a light glow…many… and in pairs. Suddenly, a dozen militants burst out of the alley way, the leader shouting, "IN THE NAME OF KANE!" They opened fire with their submachine guns, targeting cars and similar, and generally trying to wreak havoc.

Within a second, Rex had both pistols in his hands, and he didn't hesitate. Shooting four militants dead before they knew what hit them, Rex rolled behind a solid stone bench, Sarah right next to him.

"How 'bout a gun?" Sarah asked, revealing she was weaponless. Rex tossed her one of his pistols, she caught it easily, and he rose out of cover, shooting another militant in the head. Sarah also rose out, shooting three. Only four militants were left as they ducked again, the militants opening fire on their cover.

"On three, one… two… THREE!" Rex and Sarah, at the same time, rose out of cover and shot the remaining four militants.

"So much for that," Sarah said… then Rex heard another shout.

"IT IS TIME!" Fifteen men with green glowing bombs strapped to their waists, Nod Fanatics, rushed forward, one carrying a Nod banner.

Rex didn't hesitate; he opened fire immediately, catching three Fanatics with fatal wounds, killing them. Sarah aimed and set off one of the Fanatic's bombs, killing four more of his comrades. The remaining seven rushed the two, ready to blow themselves and the GDI leader with them. But Rex had other ideas. Emptying his clip into their charge, Rex stopped all but three, which Sarah took out with a few, accurate headshots.

A GDI Hammerhead appeared overhead, searchlights on, and GDI Rapid Response soldiers/peacekeepers rappelled down.

"Sir," a sergeant saluted, "We need to escort you to safety."

"I'm fine, Sergeant." Rex said, "Carry on."

"I'm sorry sir, but regulations state I need to escort you to safety." The sergeant responded. Rex sighed. _This is why I hate being a VIP… the moment anything happens; people piss their pants and shuffle you to the side._

"Looks like this'll have to wait…" Rex said, looking at Sarah.

"Maybe next time." She responded.

-

**The Next Day**

**Australian Outback**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"Pilot, only safe place to land is the rock outcropping, point five-four-one." Ahsoka ordered.

"Roger that ma'am," the Ox pilot said. "Have fun down there!"

"Check your ammo boys," Ahsoka said, turning around and looking at the Steel Talon infantrymen. "We're going in hot."

The Steel Talon Riflemen grabbed their rifles, checking the ammo load and safeties. The Ox transport came in for a landing, and the transport opened. The GDI soldiers left, several Wolverines and Titians were also landed.

"Alright Lieutenant," McNeil said, "Take your Steel Talons strike force and take out that Rogue GDI base. Level it, no survivors."

"Got it General." Ahsoka responded, "Ca'mon, let's get moving!"

The rogue GDI base was surrounded by a square wall, with Guardian Cannons on each corner, with dual Watchtowers at the gate. Two War Factories were stationed within, as were two Barracks facilities. A ConYard and Refinery were there, a rogue GDI harvester harvesting Tiberium. And finally, there were several power plants, powering it all. A squadron of Predator Tanks and APCs were parked within, and rogue GDI soldiers were on guard.

"What the- Steel Talons incoming!" shouted one of the rogue Riflemen. "Take cover!"

The Rail gun equipped Titians opened fire, outranging the Guardian cannons by mere meters. As they removed the Guardian Cannons from the corners, rogue GDI Predator tanks rolled out. The Steel Talon missile troopers opened fire, blasting the rogue tanks apart. As rogue infantry hunkered down, the last Guardian cannon was destroyed. The Titians blew the two Watchtowers apart and blew the gate open, then proceeded to march forward into the base. GDI Wolverines took point, ripping apart the rogue infantry. Ahsoka followed right behind them, the Steel Talon riflemen engaging the rogue GDI soldiers. As they began to take out what was left of the base defenses, Ahsoka heard beeping…

"Get back!" Ahsoka shouted, as the War Factories and Barracks exploded in a fireball. The ConYard then detonated, then the Refinery. The Harvester self-destructed… pretty quickly, the entire base was in flames.

"Damn," one of the Talons Riflemen commented, "They sure didn't want us to find anything here, did they?"

"No," Ahsoka agreed, "They didn't. Come on, let's search the wreckage."

As they began sifting through the wreckage, they located a still-live rogue GDI soldier.

"Hold," Ahsoka said, pulling a soldier's GD-2 down.

"Crap…" the rogue Rifleman said… and he wore an officer's insignia. Ahsoka walked up to him, and ripped his helmet off. A disheveled face was revealed, with dirty black hair.

"Damn it you shiner!" the rogue soldier said, "Why'd you come after us?"

"Because," Ahsoka said, putting her hands around his neck and squeezing lightly, "you ordered your men to murder _innocents_!"

"Hey! They were Nod, so it was a strategic strike!" the man said. Ahsoka however, could tell he was lying. She sensed anxiety… much more than usual for a cornered rogue GDI soldier.

She hurled the rogue soldier into the remaining wall of the ConYard with surprising force, causing him to stagger and collapse. She walked up to him, and punched him in the face, knocking up upwards and onto his back.

"Grah!" the rogue soldier shouted. "Isn't there regulations or something like this?!"

"Oh, we're well within reasonable interrogation." Ahsoka said darkly, ripping his chest plate off, leaving his chest unprotected save for his GDI uniform, throwing it like a discarded glove. Ahsoka then pulled him up, then pulled his face down, and kneed him brutally in the stomach. He staggered back in surprise, crawling into a fetal position in pain.

"For God's sake!" the rogue soldier shouted, appalled and in pain.

"That's me being _lenient,_" Ahsoka added. A few minutes passed until the rogue soldier collected himself. Then Ahsoka ripped off his uniform with surprising force, leaving him in his undergarments…

And on his arm… was a Nod tattoo.

"He's a Noddie!" one of the Talon riflemen shouted, surprised.

"That explains it… he's going to be telling us a good bit in interrogation." Ahsoka said darkly, "Then he's going on trial for war crimes."

A Talon rifleman cuffed the Nod member-posing as a GDI soldier. Ahsoka continued sifting through the ruins, but there was nothing left. She sighed. _This isn't over… there's something deeper in here._ Ahsoka decided.

-

**Five Hours Later**

**GDS **_**Valkyrie**_

**Just off the Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

"Tell us what we want to know, and we might consider letting you live." McNeil said, slamming his fist onto the table. Within GDI interrogation onboard the _Valkyrie,_ Ahsoka and McNeil were interrogating the Nod soldier.

"I will _never_ talk, in the name of Kane!" the Nod soldier responded. He then moved his head back… McNeil and Ahsoka blinked for a minute, wondering what was going on… then Ahsoka realized what he was doing.

"He's pinching his crated artery against his spine!" Ahsoka shouted, and she rushed forward, attempting to pull his head out of such a fatal position… but it was too late. He dropped dead.

"_**Damn it**_!" McNeil shouted, slamming his fists against the table again. "There goes our only link!"

Ahsoka sighed as she felt the dead Nod soldier's life, or what was left of it, fade into oblivion. "We'll have to presume this was a Nod operation, but we can't make a public statement about it until we got proof."

McNeil nodded, "Agreed."

The two left interrogation as an unlucky GDI soldier dealt with the body. Walking into the tactical room, McNeil focused the map to a specific part of Australia. "This, Ahsoka, is what we believe to be the new Black Hand base. Unfortunately, it has the ability to stealth if needed, so a conventional assault won't work."

"Alright, what do you need me to do?" Ahsoka asked.

"You need to get in, alone, and steal whatever data you can. It's in a pretty well infested Yellow Zone, so you'll have to be careful of local Visceroids."

Ahsoka nodded. _So, heading in alone. Suppose that's what I do best._ "When do I leave?"

"As soon as possible. We can get a Hammerhead to take you pretty close, but you'll have to walk most of the way. The Black Hand has deployed stealth detecting sensors, similar to the old Talon pulse scanners. Avoid those, or the Black Hand will stealth the base."

Ahsoka nodded. "I'll get going then."

McNeil nodded. "Good luck."

-

**1:00 AM, Australian Time**

**Near Black Hand Stronghold**

**King's Canyon**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka was positively surprised the Black Hand would build a stronghold in a heavily infested Yellow Zone, especially since it made it nigh impossible for 'pilgrims' to travel there. _At least, easily._ Ahsoka reminded herself. The air was, to her, fresh and beautiful, vigor of life. But she knew quite well that any human would smell toxin and death. This part of the Yellow Zone was directly on the border to the Red Zone, so Tiberium was in plenty. Ahsoka crept along, taking advantage of the rugged terrain to conceal herself. As she reached an outcropping, she pulled out a set of GDI binoculars. Although she used them less often then other GDI soldiers, she still carried a pair.

The new Black Hand base was still under construction, but the interior was complete, and they were busy constructing auxiliary facilities and the outer defenses. Ahsoka noticed several powered-down Disruption Towers; she counted them, and then counted the number of Nod power plants…

_That explains why it isn't in constant stealth,_ Ahsoka decided, _Because they don't have the power. They're probably out of self-propelled assembly modules…_ She continued looking… _They don't even have a ConYard. Interesting, they're building it the only fashioned way._

Ahsoka put the binoculars down, and pulled out her Rail Carbine. Checking the clip and satisfied that it was full, she crept ahead, towards the Black Hand base, dodging the reported locations and range of the Black Hand's pulse scanners. She slipped to the west, and looked for an unguarded entrance. As she crept around the perimeter, she noticed a single Black Hand Disciple holding something in his left hand… he lit his flamethrower for a brief second, then removed his faceplate, leaving his face and neck exposed, and put… a cigarette in his mouth. Unfortunately, he was too close to other guards for a Rail Carbine shot to go unheard or the flash of light seen… but his exposed neck gave her an idea.

_Well, good thing I learned that trick. _Ahsoka thought. Creeping towards him swiftly, she landed behind him and put her arms around his neck before he slipped his faceplate back on. He gave a surprised noise, but before he could shout for help, Ahsoka snapped his neck, then let go. He dropped to the floor limply, dead. Ahsoka noticed something on his belt… a key card. _Perfect!_ Ahsoka thought, taking the key card. _Now I can get inside without having to blow the door open!_

She leapt clear as a pair of Black Hand Disciples walked nearby, one of them noticed the body.

"Hey, what happened to him?" asked one of the Disciples.

"I dunno." They walked towards the dead Black Hand Disciple, and rolled him into his back.

By that point, Ahsoka was clear of them, and sneaking towards the main facility. A laser fence blocked it, but using the key card, Ahsoka was able to get in. Creaking a window open just enough to fit through, she, with difficulty, slipped inside on ground level. The room looked a bit bunker like. _Probably designed to be used as one._ Ahsoka decided, _Sure would make this hell to hit._

As she crept inside, a Black Hand Disciple spotted her.

"Sound the alarm, GDI Commando in the base!" he shouted, lighting his flamethrower and sending a torrent of flame towards Ahsoka. Without hesitation, Ahsoka shot him dead with a burst of Rail Carbine rounds and back flipped away from the fire. _Great,_ Ahsoka thought, _So much for stealth!_ Alarms began to ring throughout the base. Rushing inside, she shot another Disciple who was rushing towards her. Priming a C4 charge, she hurled it towards a group of Black Hand Disciples rushing up. As it came down at chest height, she detonated it, the makeshift grenade blowing them away, killing them. She kicked another door down and rushed in, shooting her way through.

She reached an elevator, and rushed inside as a Shadow Team appeared behind her and opened fire, the door closing just as the bullets hit it. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ahsoka glanced at the options for the elevator. Hitting the lowest she could find, the elevator suddenly sped down. With a thud, it stopped, and opened. A Black Hand Confessor was standing there, he whirled around, bringing a experimental-looking particle cannon to bear. Ahsoka shot him in the face, causing him to drop dead in surprise and pain. Stepping over his corpse, she continued on. It was a very long hallway, until finally, she reached a set of doors… there were numbers printed on each door.

_Must be bedrooms._ Ahsoka decided. She pried the nearest one open just a crack. Empty. Walking in, she glanced around. Just a few beds and what looked to be books of Nod rhetoric and religion. She picked up one of the books and flipped through it idly a minute, curious. _You can 'shop' for souvenirs later… besides, GDI already has a few copies._ She left the room and continued on. She, fortunately, found nobody. _They all must be topside sounding the alarm._ Ahsoka then realized that she had to hurry, before they realized she was down there. Rushing forward to the end, she noticed a door with strange sigils on it. Forcing it open with a little Force-assisting pulling, she walked inside… and lo and behold, Ahsoka realized whose room she walked into as she shut the door.

_Theresa's room._ Ahsoka decided as she looked around… and noticed a mirror and a surprising number of cosmetics for a 'holy leader'… She lifted one up, and sniffed. _Dye…_ She looked in… a raven black hair dye. _She must be as vain as Marcion._

She glanced at once of the cosmetics in the holder, and noticed something odd about it… like it had never been opened. Tapping it, the mirror suddenly transformed into a computer screen. _Or she uses it as a cover for personal archives…_

Ahsoka looked at it… no password. _That's a relief._ Ahsoka decided. _Guess they never expected this area to be breached._ She accessed the database. She saw six categories. Kane's Arsenal, Nod Rumors, Inner Circle, Archives, Field Recon/Intelligence, and Personal Log. Ahsoka accessed the personal log. She was surprised at how many dates there were. _Dates all the way back to the Second Tiberium War!_ She accessed a random file.

_Entry #2342,_

_ Anton Slavik was assassinated by that coward Marcion, who has usurped the Black Hand. I pray nightly for his rest in Heaven, his work noble until the end. Marcion has been exiled to Australia, but the true Black Hand has fallen. I must disappear. He will send assassins after me. Oxanna Kristos must disappear… in her place, Teresa shall rise. I hope day and night for Kane to return._

_ Peace, Through, Power._

Ahsoka blinked as she re-read it. _Oh boy…_ Ahsoka realized, _Oxanna and Teresa are one and the same? That'd explain the cosmetics in the room of a supposedly chaste woman; she's leading a double-life. Kane probably likes the idea she can do her own propaganda against GDI… or maybe she's balancing duties…_

Ahsoka suddenly heard heavy footfalls down the hall. _Great, stayed to long… but GDI needs this._ Patching her wrist EVA to the system, she told it to download the Kane's Arsenal data, the Field Intelligence, and Nod rumors, as well as a few log entries, including 2342. The first two would be the big downloads, but the others would be much faster.

The footfalls came closer, and Ahsoka head doors opening and shutting. They were checking every room. Ahsoka held her Rail Carbine ready, and quietly moved one of the tables into position to give her a brief moment of cover once the door opened. She fingered a C4 charge, and readied to throw it, hoping it would not destroy the tunnel and cave her in.

The door finally opened, and Ahsoka hurled the C4 charge into a surprised group of Black Hand Disciples. Ahsoka detonated it when it was within the group, and, in the close quarters, they were blown into the walls, their bodies shredded by kinetic force. Ahsoka was also blown back, slamming into the wall with a painful grunt, but she had avoided the worst of the blast.

Alarms began to blare out in full. Ahsoka checked the wrist EVA. Data download complete. Rushing down the hall, shooting another Black Hand Disciple who came out of a room as she ran, she reached the elevator… then realized that she had only one option if GDI was to get the data before Ahsoka got into serious combat, potentially destroyer her wrist EVA or she got captured: The spire.

The elevator shot up, and opened. Ahsoka rushed out, and called McNeil.

"General McNeil, I'm shooting you the full transmission from my EVA, I got into the Nod databank, personal to the Black Hand leader!" Ahsoka shouted, "I'll try and keep this going as long as possible, don't know if evac will be an option, just get the data!"

"Ten-Four Lieutenant!" McNeil's communications officer responded, "Downloading data… stand by."

The elevator opened and a half dozen Confessors came out, followed by a Shadow Team. Ahsoka opened fire, killing the four Shadows before they could begin moving. The Confessors opened fire with their high-caliber guns. Ahsoka rolled as she dodged, picking them off one by one with the Rail Carbine.

"**Upload complete."** EVA informed her.

"Just in time!" Ahsoka said as she shot the second to last Confessor. She then lifted the last one up, and hurled him out the window. He fell on the side, and as Ahsoka looked out, she realized how lethal the walls were. The walls were covered now with blades that must have cut very fine, because the Confessor's body kept going down and didn't get stuck. _That'd _really _be a sucky way to go…_ she decided.

Ahsoka ran into the elevator, her only way down now, and hit the button for ground level. The elevator opened, and Ahsoka opened fire at a pair of Black Hand Disciples, stopping them from burning her alive with their flamethrowers. She rushed towards her escape, the door, shooting Disciples one by one as they tried to stop her. Finally, she reached the door… and standing there, ready to go, were two Nod Commandos. Armed with their dual pistols, they spotted Ahsoka and shot at her, knocking the Rail Carbine out of her hands with a pair of well placed shots, sending it flying away a clattered and melted piece of scrap. Ahsoka reached for her belt instinctively, a laser blasting her wrist EVA to scrap, leaving Ahsoka rolling out of the way as their laser bursts began to come at her closer. She didn't find her lightsaber, or her backup pistol. _Damn it,_ Ahsoka cursed at herself for being so stupid, _you lost it at Ground Zero! And you gave the pistol to that mother!_

She had no other weapons with her. Desperately, she used the Force to pull one of the Commando's guns to her, but a cord disconnected. As Ahsoka aimed at the commando she stole the gun from, she heard a faint, out of ammo click.

"This is not good, not good at all…" Ahsoka said to herself as she dodged another burst of lasers. She used the Force to separate the Commandos from their guns, but that had little effect. They rushed Ahsoka, and began to engage her in melee combat. Ahsoka blocked a high set of punches from one, and kicked the other in the face, knocking her back. Ahsoka then hurled the other into the wall with a Force push. The other Commando then rushed up and dealt an uppercut to Ahsoka, knocking her into a wall in retaliation. The first Commando then rushed forward, but Ahsoka used the Force to hurl her into a flamethrower mounted on a wall rack, causing it to explode in a fireball and kill the Commando. The second Commando screamed in rage, and barreled into Ahsoka, and managed to pin Ahsoka to a wall. A dozen Confessors rushed in, accompanied by Black Hand Disciples.

"Good night," The Commando said, before pinching Ahsoka's neck. She collapsed, and lost consciousness as she felt her body go limp.

-

-

**Unknown Period of Time Later**

**Unknown Black Hand Detention Center**

**Suspected Yellow Zone Y-4**

When Ahsoka woke up, she didn't know where she was, but the symbol of the Black Hand, a pitch blank hand print, printed on the room she woke up in told her all she needed to know. _Once more, I've been captured. Why is it that I'm always the one getting captured…? I'm worse than Skyguy at times…_

She tried to move, but felt her hands and legs restrained. _Great,_ Ahsoka realized as she turned her head to look around, _They've strapped me to the wall, again, hands and feet bound individually, I can't reach for my life, and if the time comes, it's one bullet, and I can't do anything about it._

Almost anything, but the Force abilities she'd be able to do without it being obvious to Nod were limited… especially since Kane had likely warned them of the difficulties of interrogating the 'GDI shiner demon'. She then realized how cold she felt… she glanced down. Her armor had been taken away, and they had left her with what felt to be tightly bound cloth, keeping her decent… for a public swimming pool.

After what seemed to be time immemorial, Ahsoka heard heavy footsteps. Teresa (_Better known as Oxanna,_ Ahsoka reminded herself) walked into view, yet again in the armor of the Black Hand Disciple.

"So," Oxanna began, "You're the one who attacked our sanctuary? You haven't impressed me that much."

Ahsoka spat at her, the wattle of spit missing by inches as it fell short… though it would have hit if Oxanna hadn't stepped back a foot.

"Tell me, how does it feel, knowing you've failed, and that once more, the Brotherhood is victorious?"

"Victorious huh?" Ahsoka asked challengingly, "Then explain why Nod's in retreat."

Oxanna chuckled evilly, "Ah, naïve, naïve GDI. The Third Tiberium War may be over… but the plan proceeds apace. You will find that purification will not come… swiftly, for you."

Ahsoka expected that. _So basically, set me on fire slowly? Kind of redundant, given that's what'd happen anyways even if I get out of here._ Ahsoka knew that such thoughts were inappropriate for the situation, but the sarcasm was something she always fell back on to keep her alert… and give her at least some sense of control over the situation. _Not much,_ Ahsoka decided, _But it helps._

Oxanna gave a smile of poisoned honey one last time, before departing, leaving Ahsoka alone to her thoughts.

-

**GDI Press Conference**

**GDI Northeastern Admin Building  
Blue Zone B-2**

"No, GDI was not behind the murder of those innocents." Rex stated to the reporter, "According to intelligence recently acquired, Nod captured the base during the chaos of the alien invasion. The base was leveled yesterday morning by a GDI strike force. Unfortunately, before we could interrogate any of the Nod soldiers posing as GDI, they either took their own lives, or were killed when the base self destructed."

"So basically, it was all Nod?" another reporter asked.

"As far as our intelligence points, that is correct. We're working to confirm it, or to find the real source of this."

"How could GDI let this happen?" Cassandra Blair, the female reporter, asked.

"I don't think we let it happen." Rex answered honestly, "In the chaos of the invasion, we lost track of many things. No excuse, to be honest. Still, the fact that this could happen means that GDI must take responsibility and stop similar things from happening in the future."

A general murmur. _I've answered as honestly as I can._ Rex thought, _I just hope it's enough._

"Any other questions?" Rex asked, "I apologize for being impatient, but I've never enjoyed politics."

A few reporters gave a light chuckle, and one raised their hand.

"Yes?" Rex asked, pointing at the reporter.

"What's these reports of a, as sources cite, a 'GDI Shiner demon'?"

_Great... now I have to lie._ Rex nodded. "Some of our soldiers are mutants; that is correct. I suspect that the 'GDI shiner demon', as he or she is referred to, is one of them." Rex knew that they were probably referring to Ahsoka, but he needed to shake stuff off from her. _She wants to fade into obscurity, I know that. Boyle karked that pretty good, but I can at least point out the obvious to deal a smokescreen out for her._

"Speaking of Mutants," another reporter said, "what are these reports of mutant attacks on ZOCOM reclamation operations?"

The question surprised Rex. He pulled up the reports from the last few days mentally. _Right, several rogue Mutant marauders hit a ZOCOM squad near Grand Canyon._

"Field reports indicate that they are rogues. The Forgotten and GDI are allies, much to the disappointment of some, in both parties." Rex explained, "Rogue mutants are, in fact, part of why the creation of ZOCOM was so important. Any other questions?"

There was silence. "Very well. If there's nothing else, I have to return to my duties."

The press left swiftly as Rex walked off the stage.

-

Back at the Pentagon, Rex walked into Battle Control. General Granger and Mitchell had a tactical map of Australia pulled up, a hologram of McNeil also present.

"I see you're enjoying the new tech, Generals." Rex said as he walked into the range of the hologram generator/receiver.

"Director." Granger nodded, then turned back to McNeil, "So you're saying that Anton Slavik's old Intel officer is heading up the Black Hand now under a pseudonym?"

"That's correct. I lost contact with Lieutenant Tano shortly after she sent the data." McNeil explained, "Probably interference from Black Hand jamming. We expect to hear contact… wait, I'm being hailed on an open channel…" McNeil turned to someone out of the hologram's range. "God damn it!" McNeil shouted. "Message from the Black Hand, put it through!"

"Main screen." Rex said, "I'll answer the challenge or whatever personally."

Teresa, or rather, Oxanna Kristos, the new Black Hand leader, appeared on the screen.

"Ah. I see you've linked me to the Pentagon on a secure channel that's locked down any Netwarriors from hacking your system. As expected." Teresa said, almost disappointed. "Regardless, I believe the message I have is clear: Leave Australia and never return, GDI."

Rex snorted, "So that's it? You're telling us to screw off?"

"Or else…" the camera blinked to a security camera's live recording, if the time stamp was at all accurate, of Ahsoka strapped to a wall in a Black Hand detention center.

Rex's eyes widened as he saw that. Granger and Mitchell's eyes also widened… McNeil was also surprised, but less so than the others.

Rex let the footage play for another minute before it cut back to Oxanna.

"So, you leave Australia and the waters in a ten mile radius around it, or she's next on _Today's Execution_." Oxanna responded. "You have an hour to decide." The footage cut.

Rex sighed, leaning on the table. He looked at the generals, then said, "I'm going in. Was there anything that could help us in that Intel she captured before she herself was captured?"

"Most of it was redundant or pieced together already, though notes on the new Black Hand arsenal sure helped, but otherwise, not much Intel. We did locate the warehouse where _Today's Execution_ hosts the executions these days, however." McNeil explained, "Presuming that, as traditional ever since Hassan's throat was slit, they use a Nod rally warehouse, in this case, one they took in Sydney, a GDI team could get in and take them out quickly, rescue the Lieutenant, and probably kill Oxanna as well."

Rex nodded, "I'm going with them."

"Hang on," Mitchell said, "I know you want to get in there, but don't you think that's part of what Oxanna is expecting?"

Rex looked at him, "Do you think that matters?"

"Maybe not to you… I know this sounds trite, but do you think Ahsoka would want you to get killed trying to save her? When she knows GDI needs a capable leader, like you?"

Rex stopped in his tracks as he turned to leave. _No,_ Rex thought, _she wouldn't… but I wouldn't feel any better about it, even if she told me, right to my face, not to try. You've lost countless brothers, Rex. Ahsoka knows that. She knows you're tough._

"I'm still going," Rex said, "But you're right… I'll work with the support team. That way I can salve my conscious, while still keeping the operation secure."

-

As Rex walked out, Granger sighed, looking at Mitchell, almost giving him a _this is your fault_ look. Mitchell gave an innocent shrug.

"So, we need a spec ops Commando team, and a support team, and we need to get them down to Sydney by nightfall." Granger finally said. "McNeil, do you have the spec ops team?"

"Got two. I'll send them to Sydney as discretely as possible." McNeil answered. "Given the Lieutenants skills and the tactical opportunity presented to us, justifying this mission isn't a problem."

--

_**Author's Notes: **_**Hope you all enjoyed the double-posting. Yes, I once more leave it at a cliff hanger. I've done my tribute to Renegade, so now it's on to exploring the years between Tiberium Wars and the end of Kane's Wrath. Expect to get an insight on day-to-day things that we don't get to see in the games.**

**For those who don't know, capturing a GDI base then using GDI equipment to attack a civilian town is in fact a Nod tactic used in the non-canonical Nod missions in Tiberian Sun, except instead of local Australians it was the Forgotten. It has been played out.**

**And yes, I'm aware Ahsoka has been getting pretty beat up in this fanfic. Well, you don't infiltrate a Black Hand **_**main base**_** alone and get away unscathed… especially after breaking into their leader's room. I'd of rather not had to get her captured again. Good news, I was able to show that the Black Hand isn't to be messed with… 'specially the Commandos. (As an FYI, that was two **_**heroic**_** (maxed-out) Commandos that had to team up to pin Ahsoka down).**

**I intend the fanfic to wrap up at about twenty five chapters, give or take one or two. A sequel for the fanfic, set in the Third Interbellum/Tiberium Control Network Conflict (between the end of Kane's Wrath and the beginning C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight), and, depending on the events of Tiberian Twilight, Cloned Tiberium may get another expansion to cover C&C 4. It's pretty fluid right now.**


	20. Chapter 20: Brain Freeze

_If Rex an' Sarah get married, I'll fucking teach their kids to fight, even though they'd probably be 'good little officers' by the time they can walk… it'd be up to me to keep them from becoming pansy 'good little officers' and make them _**REAL**_ soldiers. I'm serious,_ ladies_, if they do have kids I'm teaching them to fight real proper, true GDI style. Don't believe me? I'll even wear a friggen nanny's outfit for a year after they're born. For each kid too._

- Nick Seymour "Havoc" Parker, Retired GDI War Hero, Retired Colonel, popular conservative pundit, and the noted proponent of the post-Second Tiberium War "Kane Lives" theory, making a _**very**_ dangerous statement of ego to GDI Commandos Conrad, Higgins, and Fullerton… Havoc was drunk.

**Chapter 20: Brain Freeze**

**Black Hand Transport en route to Sydney**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka looked up from the slap of steel she was strapped to. Another, anonymous transport at pitch darkness, though that wasn't what hindered her… it was the shackles. She knew what was going to happen, they were going to drag her like a savage beast to the front of a huge crowd, on live Nod TV, kill her like a rabid dog, then leave her to rot in what was left of Sydney…_ Let them take their best shot, I'll hold my head high and take everything they throw at me._ Ahsoka decided, intending on making as much hell for Nod as possible before she went out. _Stang, if I get the shot, I'll break out just to humiliate them._

-

**Warehouse 52**

**Downtown Sydney**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Rex cocked his recently cleaned and oiled rifle. A small team was dispatched from DC and arrived with stealth to support McNeil's spec ops teams. The team was ZOCOM, four Raiders lead by Sarah, and four of ZOCOM's best sniper/spotters. They were holed up in the warehouse next to the _Today's Execution_ warehouse. Lieutenant Fullerton, who recently arrived to replace Ahsoka in McNeil's task force, was going to rendezvous with them shortly. Rex heard a rock fall behind him, and whirled around, aiming his Rail Gun DC-15. It was Fullerton.

Patching his helmet's radio to Fullerton's, and, by extension, Fullerton's team, Rex said, confident that their communications would be undetected due to the full sealing of his armor and the same for GDI armor, "Good to see you again Fullerton. You know the plan, right?"

"Yup." Fullerton responded, "We wait for them to drag Ahsoka out, snipe the Black Hand bitch, have the ladies blow the Militants away with sonic grenades before they can react, and let the snipers mop up while we all evac to Soanso's gunboat."

"Pretty much." Rex responded, "I'm going to shoot the camera once we crash through the roof, cut the feed off. GDI is going to jam it once it begins, just to really screw them up. Remember, the Black Hand leader is also the reporter, and if Mitchell's theory is correct, she pre-records _Today's Execution_ and assumes all goes well…. Of course, it won't today, and she isn't dumb enough not to think we'd try something. So killing her will have the double effect of killing Nod propaganda. Although she's the main target, however, we can do more damage by leaving her alive to be humiliated and ridiculed, but killing her would hurt them badly too. Secondary objective is, obviously, rescueing the Lieutenant."

Although that was the official order of objectives, Rex had the objectives in reverse in priority. _Ain't letting lil'un die on me if I can help it._

They waited another hour in silence, Rex and Sarah staying near each other. Finally, a Black Hand transport drove into the Warehouse to the cheers of Nod militants inside. "Here we go," Rex said as the Spotter gave hand signals. "Steady, move into position."

Fullerton loaded an under slung grappling launcher, a recent modification to his Rail Carbine, and aimed at the chimney of the other warehouse, then fired. The grappling hook stuck. Rex, Fullerton, and several elite GDI Riflemen used the super-heavy duty rope to pull themselves across. Rex gave Sarah a hand signal, _We're ready._ And then he walked to the glass roof in preparation to jump down.

-

Ahsoka watched as Oxanna moved to the podium. She was released from the wall-like slab of metal, gratefully, but her legs were shackled to the ground, a post right behind her, and her hands held on two separate poles, arms outstretched. She knew exactly why. She was too dangerous to drag up normally. _Probably look like that Jesus fellow on the cross… well, Nod is a bunch of religious fanatics… but I didn't think it was _that_ connected with the more… mainline religions on Earth._ Ahsoka knew it was likely more practicality than anything, however.

Oxanna raised her hands, and the Militants became silent and sat down.

"Today, is a great day for the Brotherhood!" Oxanna began, raising her fist, "GDI's top Commando, captured by the Black Hand's best, will now suffer, as those abandoned, those _murdered_ by GDI have suffered!"

The Militants cheered wildly, before regaining control and returning to their seats.

"However… we will be… unique today." Oxanna said, pulling a silver tube from her belt, concealed by the cape traditionally worn by Black Hand Disciples… with a press of a button, a green blade roared out of the tube.

_My lightsaber!_ Ahsoka realized, fear beating through her heart as she remembered her second most recent lightsaber. _By the Force, how did I forget that Nod had it! Oh I hope no one died at its blade…_

Ahsoka realized that it was unlikely, as Kane didn't seem the type to kill people wantonly with such a unique weapon. Oxanna held it in the air. "We will not be swift, as we often are. No, it shall be slow, for there is innocent blood, _gallons of it_; which must be avenged. It is so much that only one death would not suffice. She is only the first to die, but it will be at the hands of _her own_ weapon!" Oxanna moved closer, and with a light touch, burned Ahsoka's leg with the lightsaber. _I will not scream… I will not scream…_ Ahsoka focused all her might on keeping that scream of pain that wanted to come out from leaving. _I will not give them the satisfaction…_

Oxanna smiled evilly, moving in closer and lightly tapping Ahsoka's arms, legs, and stomach area with the lightsaber. Ahsoka felt something unique, barely felt over the pain rushing through her… then glanced at what bound her… and an idea lit in her head.

Pulling the ignited lightsaber with the Force, she sent it to her open left hand, and managed to, with a jagged cut, free her left hand. Cutting the bindings of her feet and then those binding her right hand, she landed with a grunt and raised the lightsaber, pointing it at Oxanna's throat. Oxanna made a move, but Ahsoka hurled her into the crowd with a Force push. She cut the bindings and let the two pieces of metal hanging on her arms drop to the ground uselessly. The Militants were shocked, and even if they were lucky enough to have old Nod combat armor, it was clear they did not expect that at _all_… many stood there stupidly.

"Finish her!" Oxanna shouted, "Don't let her escape!"

Two Black Hand Disciples moved up and lit their flamethrowers and the Militants rushed to get their weapons. Ahsoka leapt back as a torrent of flame came forth, and died out as it missed, a heavy smokescreen left behind. Oxanna advanced through the smoke, the two Disciples stepping back, and engaged Ahsoka in hand to hand combat, grabbing Ahsoka's wrist and knocking the lightsaber out of her hand. Ahsoka shoved Oxanna back into the wall. Suddenly, the glass roof exploded, and several figures came rushing down, Jump Jets igniting to slow the landing. The two Disciples were shot, collapsing dead.

"Rex!" Ahsoka shouted, "Boy am I glad to see you!"

Rex cocked his DC-15 and shot the camera. Five Zone Raiders were blasting the Militant crowd around like rag dolls, causing them to fall on top of each other and get tangled up. Oxanna discreetly left the fray.

Rex shouted, "Time to go, Hawk, come in, we need some evac!"

"Copy that Director, we're en route!"

Running out the door, the GDI soldiers, with no casualties, escaped into the streets. As the Militants surged out, finally untangling themselves, snipers from the rooftops shot them dead, causing the doorway to be crowded with dead men piled atop of each other.

"Excellent shot!" Sarah shouted up to the snipers as they reloaded. The group rushed to the docks, where a GDI Gunboat was docked. The Hammerheads sped to the Snipers and picked them up, flying out with all due speed, sniping Nod on the way.

Ahsoka, still unarmed except for the Force, heard a distinct zip, and suddenly collapsed, as something hit her back. _Poison…_ Ahsoka realized as her heart began to pound. Rex picked her up, pulling her over his shoulder with surprising ease, before she lost consciousness.

-

The GDI rescue party rushed onto the gunboat, and with all aboard, it sped off. Shells exploded around them as the gunboat sped away into the night.

Rex carried Ahsoka into the small medical bay and laid her down on a bed. "Hey Doc, step on it!"

A GDI medic rushed out and checked her pulse and blood pressure. "She's alive. Looks like the lethal injection via poison wad shot. Diluted from long range and a bad angle. At worst, she'll be in bed for a day, though I can't check her properly until we reach a more stable position." Indeed, the Gunboat was rocking side to side as shells detonated around it. "I'll apply an antidote shot to keep her stable, just in case."

Rex nodded, and ran out, loading his DC-15, and took aim at a Nod speedboat in pursuit. He took the shot, blasting the driver off. The speedboat lost course and slammed into another, both exploding. The other four speedboats opened fire with their mounted machine guns, dinging the side of the Gunboat, but failing to damage it. Four GDI Orcas suddenly appeared overhead, each firing a homing rocket into the speedboats, and they exploded.

"Nice timing, Hawk." Rex said, "You guys got the fuel?"

"Plenty, Director." Hawk, the GDI Orca pilot, responded. "We'll take point, you guys win?"

"We completed our secondary objective, rescue the Lieutenant." Rex answered, "But the target got away… with her tail between her legs."

"Ah well," Hawk said, "Next time. She's lost face, that's for sure."

-

**Undisclosed Location**

Kane nodded as Oxanna was brought in. "Sister Oxanna…" Kane began, "That could of gone better… the GDI response was, evidently, much harsher than expected, but it will serve out purposes… though I honestly wish they had not made such a bold attack. I liked the idea of finding the battered body. However, the execution of the plan was excellent and believable. I am impressed, Sister Oxanna."

Oxanna bowed her head, the dyed raven-black hair flowing down her chest. "Your will is my action."

Kane smiled, "Now, I want you to evacuate the Black Hand, let the common militia man our bases in Australia. Deploy the proper Black Hand at Sakhalin Island, GDI must be delayed before they intercept a critical shipment passing through the area. You cannot hope to hold them off forever… they are too powerful now, but the reformed Black Hand is more than capable of making them have to cede the field, for a time. When the shipment is through, you are to retreat in as 'disorganized' as possible manner, make GDI think that they have repelled the Black Hand with their forces. Afterwards… we shall make preparations."

-

**GDS **_**Valkyrie**_

**Off the Northern Australian Coast**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

Ahsoka woke up suddenly. She realized quickly that she was on a… GDI ship. The medical bay of a GDI ship. Rex was sitting there, but besides for the two, the ward was deserted, and no security cameras.

"Ahsoka!" He exclaimed, standing up.

"Rex?" Ahsoka asked, "What happened?"

"Poison wad shot from a sniper," Rex explained, "The docs managed to stop it, though it wasn't fully lethal due to range. Must have been a last shot before one of our snipers got the berk. On the bright side, according to recon, the Black Hand has exiled itself to Sakhalin Island, in Japan, Blue Zone B-14. According to what we found out, they're holing up just outside of the Zone, and aren't making offensive moves, so the local GDI is digging it. McNeil is going after them later, for now, we're going to push towards Nod command in Ayer's rock."

Ahsoka nodded, blinking. "Thanks for the rescue, Rex. It means a lot."

Rex nodded hesitantly, then added, "Well, get some rest, we'll call you when your recovered…. You have some… scars."

As Rex left, Ahsoka frowned again, pulling the sheets off. She was, once more, in GDI regulation undergarments, full body covering. Lifting the shirt up a few inches, she blinked as she saw a part of her belly a different hue of red, like a burn that would not fade. _So, she left me scarred._ Ahsoka realized. _I guess I shouldn't be surprised._ She decided to drift towards sleep, and, after a while, she did.

But she knew one thing she'd have to do the next time she went after the Black Hand...

Take Oxanna down and get her lightsaber back.

-

Sarah was standing at the balcony on one of the lower levels of the carrier. She heard footsteps, and glanced over. Rex was walking up to her. She nodded to him, "Rex."

They were both in uniform still, but it was 'rec time', as GDI soldiers called it. Off duty time where they could be more personal and friendly then when on duty.

"Sarah." Rex responded, "I'm sorry how things have turned out…"

"It's alright; I know how much you care for the good Lieutenant. I was glad to be able to help."

Rex gave her a surprised look, then, finally, said, "One of the lads in the mess hall said you were an only child. Pardon the curiosity, but… what's that like?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow at Rex, wondering, _Has fourteen years of being on Earth still not answered all his questions?_ She shrugged the thought a way, and said, "Well… it's a bit lonely, to tell truth, especially when your father is a GDI commando slash commander, and later, a GDI General. Tends to be away from home a lot, I usually was with old 'aunt' Morelli. She isn't really my aunt, but that's what I always called her, she was a pilot back in Tib War One. Still, once my father became a general, my father had more time to spend. I was about done with middle school at that time… about… 2031." _Right after the Firestorm Crisis… when he became a General after taking down CABAL's core under General Cortez._

Rex nodded, "You know… I never had proper schooling. Oh, we had flash training and all that we'd need to fight a war and interact, but otherwise, me and all my brothers were really kids when we were out fighting on the front lines… and dying before we even knew what we were cheated out of."

Sarah put her hand on Rex's, he glanced at her, and nodded appreciatively.

"I find in odd," Sarah finally said, "that ever since the Second World War, my family has only had one child a generation, always a man, until me. Those who honestly care about family lines would be disappointed that the line would 'die off in the male side'. I never really got that stuff, I mean; it's not an uncommon name, is it?"

"No," Rex admitted, "But maybe that specific line would 'die out'. I've never really understood family lines, given my… history."

_Time to shift the conversation to something more pleasant._ Sarah decided, "So, think that once this theatre is cleaned up and Nod dusted that we'd get a chance to go out properly?"

Rex nodded, "Very good chance of that, as soon as we both have a break from our duties."

Sarah nodded as the sun began to set beautifully. _The clean up is almost over, and with the Tacitus and new advances from reverse engineering Scrin technology, the future looks bright once more._

-

-

-

-

-

**Three Days Later**

**Nearing Ayer's Rock**

**Australian Outback**

**Red Zone R-8**

Ahsoka, in a new suit of GDI Commando Armor and her Rail Carbine on the rack, held onto the roof rail in the Ox transport as they neared Ayer's Rock. The previous two days were good for GDI; the Steel Talons, who had arrived in full force, had made considerable headway, pushing Nod battalions back with aid of the Forgotten, in what Lieutenant McCarthy had described as an 'almost literal reenactment of several Second Tiberium War battles'. A swift amphibious assault by McNeil's troops had freed Sydney of the last Nod units in the area. A ZOCOM strike force had also arrived to reinforce the assault, which would let the GDI infantry fight in the Red Zones they were now fighting in. Ahsoka looked out the window and saw the considerable amount of Tiberium in the area. _Good thing Sarah, and by extension, ZOCOM is in charge of the infantry today, we need those suits and the extra Zone units._ The Talons had the armor command, given their obvious armor superiority over the other GDI divisions, while mainline GDI supported both. As they neared Ayer's Rock however, they saw that even Nod kept Tiberium out of their main homes. The place had been expanded a good bit since a cut off GDI battalion hit the place in retaliation for Sydney… and destroyed to the last man. The rock itself had a good two hundred meter perimeter established around it with thick walls and turrets mounted on them, with Obelisks lining the rock itself. It would he a hell of a fight.

ZOCOM outfitted Orcas sped in and opened fire on a area, blasting and sterilizing the Tiberium to clear a landing zone, and GDI forces landed and immediately began deploying sonic wall hubs, which connected quickly into proper sonic fields. Stevenson, Rex's old ConYard operator (who had been stuck in the repair shop with Rex out of combat), and Conrad, Sarah's ConYard operator, and their respective MCVs landed, and deployed, quickly getting all the GDI force would need to button down if all went to hell, be it Ion Storm of a failed assault. Ahsoka hurried off the Ox transport as they landed.

A group of Pitbull ATVs drove up and skidded to a halt. These Pitbulls bore the mark of the GDI Bloodhounds, a veteran division nominally under mainline GDI command, designed to hunt down targets and provide field recon. Their casualty rates varied depending on how much opposition they encountered on the way, but usually they were skilled enough to hit-and-run. Ahsoka thought they were going to talk to her, but the Tiberium Field Suit wearing man who hopped out proved that wrong.

"Captain Granger," the driver said, saluting to the woman in Zone Armor behind Ahsoka, "Recon complete."

"Report then." Sarah said, walking up to Ahsoka.

"Low grade Nod units in droves… mostly Militants, Fanatics, and lighter Nod vehicles, the heaviest we've spotted is a Flame Tank. No sign of Black Hand or other advanced pieces of Nod technology. I don't know if they're inside the base itself, or if they're evacuating."

Ahsoka frowned; _I know Nod sees it's more advanced units as more important then the masses they claim to represent, but only having the common grunts here? When this is the _Black Hand_ who are supposed to be in charge of the area's defense?_

Sarah must have thought the same thing, as she asked, "What about the Black Hand's stronghold under construction?"

"Abandoned, Ma'am. Something tells me that it was a fake, or they abandoned it after it was discovered by the Lieutenant. I really hope it was the latter, because it means we've put the fear of God into them."

"Regardless, it's a bit disturbing that they'd abandon it so easily." Sarah said, "Alright, good work. Upload the troop movement reports to Tactical and get refueled."

The Pitbull driver hopped back into his Pitbull and drove to the War Factory that had just been set up to refuel, repair, and rearm GDI vehicles as needed.

As the GDI forces formed up, Ahsoka looked towards Ayer's Rock. Nod had the usual defenses for a strategic installation. Laser Turret networks that the Titians could only barely outrange, Obelisks of Light behind the walls to give GDI hell, and SAM sites in the turrets. SkySentry was reporting many Militants, armed mostly with submachine guns and stolen 2nd Tiberium War vintage GDI rifles, as well as 2nd Tiberium War Nod rifles. There were, fortunately, none of Nod's most advanced troops on station.

The Juggernauts and their heavier, Behemoth cousins moved into position, taking up on the cliff near the GDI position, which offered excellent view, despite the Tiberium glaciers interlacing and occasionally making movement difficult. They prepared to shell the base with the Juggernaut triple-200 millimeter guns, and the Behemoth triple-250 millimeter guns.

"Remember," Rex said over the communications, "If InOps is, for once, correct wholly, Kane is still here. Now, I don't trust it after what happened in Sarajevo," he paused, Ahsoka could hear him swallowing, "But if he is, this means that we can put the final nail in Nod's coffin. Begin the bombardment. Be aware that we have yet to sight any Nod high-tech units, but there's interference with our heavy duty radar, so stay on guard and be alert for stealth units."

With a massive triple thud, the Behemoths and Juggernauts began their bombardment. Although the Juggernauts had lighter guns, they had a bit more range, so they targeted the interior auxiliary Temple of Nod, which was being used to prepare one nuclear missile, while the Behemoths blasted the hell out of the support buildings, targeting power plants, fuel barrels, really anything that blew up real good and would cost Nod considerably.

As fires began to rage inside, ZOCOM Firehawk wing pairs made runs on the SAM sites, using their Ceramic armor to absorb the SAM rockets' blasts. One by one, the SAM sites collapsed, leaving an opening for the Orcas.

The Orcas sped in and bombed the Obelisks of Light, severely damaging most, and destroyed two. The Behemoths then shifted aim, and blasted the Obelisks to scrap after a five minute bombardment, which also tore up most of the walls and laser turrets.

Ahsoka heard a beeping on her new wrist EVA. Nodding, she cocked her rail carbine, and nodded to the ZOCOM equipped soldiers with her. They rushed forward. Titians marched out, backed up with Wolverines, and Mammoth Tanks ready to roll over a breach. She heard the sound of Jump Jets going off, and the Zone Troopers and Raiders leapt into the base itself, blasting Scorpion Tanks and Raider Buggies alike into scrap. As the Titians advanced, their cannons, be they Rail Gun or 155 millimeter, blew apart the Nod turrets and armor.

As Ahsoka entered the base, opening fire with her Rail Carbine. A group of them attempted an organized human wall, but it went down when Ahsoka's grenadier squad hurled their grenades, blasting them apart.

_This is too easy,_ Ahsoka decided as her strike force punched through the Nod Militant hordes. _Way too easy…_

As GDI cleaned out the first tier of defenses, it became quite clear that the base was undermanned. Or rather, underteched. While hordes of Militants and waves of Scorpion Tanks, Raider Buggies, and Attack Bikes were coming, there were absolutely no sightings of any advanced Nod units. It was almost as if the base was left to be sacrificed…

An explosion rocked the top of the rock, a mushroom cloud of smoke and fire erupted from it.

"Damn it…" one of the Juggernaut pilots said, "I think we accidently detonated the nuke they were preparing. Serious radiation alert on the top of Ayer's Rock, advise Zone units _only_ head in."

"Roger that, Juggernaut-Ten." Sarah responded as she landed near Ahsoka from a Jump Jetting. A glance from Sarah, even if behind a face-obscuring helmet, told Ahsoka all she needed to know: _This isn't Tiberium radiation, thus stay clear._ Ahsoka nodded back to Sarah, who then lead the Zone units on a jump jet cruise up, landing at the Nod command structure. They blasted a hole in, and rushed inside. Several Militants came flying off the cliff as Zone Troopers, likely separated from their guns briefly, hurled them off the rock.

-

Sarah fired her grenade launcher again. _Damn Militants never learn do they?_ Another squad of Militants were blown to sonic oblivion, their lifeless bodies slamming into the walls with enough force to break spines. GDI was advancing very quickly through the building, and soon it would be secured and, if Kane was, indeed inside, he would be captured. The Zone Armor was reading nuclear radiation beginning to creep into the rooms. _Good thing these are designed to be immune to _all_ radiation, though Tiberium is the primary concern of the design…_

They finally reached the command center, where a poorly trained group of Militants were trying to organize the defense. Within seconds, the Zone Troopers and Raiders killed them all, as none surrendered.

As they began to shut down the remaining base defenses, Sarah glanced around, a bit of red hair getting her attention.

"Well I'll be damned," Sarah said, "I think we just located Nod's best General…" Walking up to the corpse she noted, she gave it a light tap with her foot. _Definitely dead._

Her helmet's connection to the EVA database immediately did a scan of the GDI Rogues Gallery, and a name appeared. _Kilian Qatar_.

"Damn," one of the Zone Troopers said, "Looks like she was killed a while ago and just left there. Note the skin tone."

"You take such an interest in the skin of the ladies, Vega." Another Zone Trooper commented.

"Oh be quiet, I'm equally proficient at identifying the skin conditions of any human."

"Cut the personal comments you two," Sarah said, "Save it for the mess hall." She ran a scan on the body… _Yep, dead to a Nod pistol… energy weapon too… and by the looks of it, it was an execution. Wonder if it's connected to that Nod infighting at Sarajevo._

"Leave the body," Sarah finally said, "We get a Zone Scientist team in here and let them figure it out. The base shut down yet?"

"Base is… aw shit." One of the Raiders said.

"What?" Sarah asked, turning around.

"We gotta move!"

And sure enough, the Base's Nuclear Self Destruct had been activated… only one word went through Sarah's head and out her mouth…

"RUN!"

-

Ahsoka hurled a grenade onto a Scorpion Tank, blasting the cockpit open and killing the pilot. She then heard an alarm on her wrist EVA.

"All units, _**get the hell away from the Nod base! **__**NOW!**_" Rex shouted into the communications channels, "Nod's setting off a city-killer nuke! Pull out _NOW!_ Abort Mission, _Abort Mission_!"

"COME ON!" Ahsoka shouted, making sure that GDI soldiers got clear. Nod advanced boldly, but Behemoths and Juggernaut shells slowed it down somewhat.

As Ahsoka got clear, she spotted Sarah's Zone infantry at the base. The tail end of the evacuation, she reached halfway to the GDI base.

"**Minimal Safe Distance reached."** EVA said. Ahsoka kept running, as did most other GDI soldiers. Ahsoka skidded to a halt and got the other, stopping soldiers moving again, shouting, "Come on, minimal doesn't mean stop!"

Suddenly, all was silent… then a tremendous explosion; and Ayer's Rock exploded like a volcano, rocks falling all around. A GDI missile soldier, who had collapsed fourty yards past the minimal safe distance, was crushed by one of the larger stones before anyone could react.

As Ahsoka reached the base, she panted, Jedi or not, running nigh constant was tiring, especially since she was sprinting.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Ahsoka asked, activating the command channel in the wrist EVA.

"Five creds say Kane left and intended to nuke a bunch of us to hell." Fullerton said. "What a wuss."

-

-

**One Day Later**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

With the Australian front officially over, Australia liberated, Rex had returned to Washington. Officially, he had gone down to Australia to personally oversee the operations and make sure that the operation was carried out in accordance to all GDI regulations.

Granger gave a sigh as Rex walked into Battle Control. Both made sure to stand outside of the recording radius, where McNeil was overseeing GDI base construction in Australia. "Glad you're back, Rex." Granger said finally.

"Hope I didn't scare you." Rex answered, "Slap me with this political station or not, I'm still a soldier at heart."

"Scare _me_? Rex, you made all of Boyle's old political appointees shit their pants." Granger smiled at the thought, "I had a hunch you'd pull through," he paused, "though I expected to see you on a crutch."

Rex gave a slight grunt. "So, the politicians give you any trouble?"

"None. They're a bit… scared of me, I think. Probably crapped their pants when they heard _Guardian Angel_ was activated during Boyle's reign."

Rex nodded. _Good, the politicians are pretty muzzled… now to figure out how to not only make the GDI Council _not_ interfere when it shouldn't, but make it effective._

"So, when will we get a new set of Councilors?" Rex asked, "Honestly, I'd rather not have a bunch of Boyle's old political appointees, and actual get competence on the council that _isn't_ military."

Granger nodded. "Good news then, election month is coming. November. Now, you won't have to worry overmuch, the Council elects the Director from their own number prior to the election, keep some consistency at the least, and Boyle's bunch don't have a proper ringleader who has the brains, so chances are they'll just have you stick as Director."

"Least you speak in English and not Legalese." Rex said appreciatively, "So, any notable candidates?"

"None yet. They can't start campaigning or announcing their intent to the public prior to November First, noon time GMT. It's to keep it fair."

Rex nodded. _Just half a month of having to shoulder pretty much anything that isn't army… GDI really did put too much on the _Philadelphia,_ didn't they?_

-

-

**Five Kilometers North of Sydney**

**Australia**

**Yellow Zone Y-4**

_Eastern Australia is going to take a while to return to Blue-Zone status._ Ahsoka decided as she looked out the Pitbull's windows. She had borrowed a GDI Pitbull from McNeil to rendezvous with the Forgotten's new leader, Dread Milano, and discuss the GDI/Forgotten alliance, particularly how to deal with the rogue mutants that were hitting ZOCOM forces in Africa and China. Unfortunately, due to mutual distrust and rogue GDI, he only agreed to meet with her, or, if such was impossible, her to bring a holotransmitter and connect to the GDI negotiator, agreed to be McNeil, due to his experiences with the Forgotten.

She hit the brakes and the Pitbull stopped with a light bump. She had arrived. She glanced around; and sure enough, a Forgotten APC was driving up, escorted by several heavily-modified X-66 Mammoth Tanks, GDI paint scheme, but a lot of it was flaked off. The guns looked like they were taken from downed Mammoth-29s in the field. _They're good engineers, fixing up Rail Guns like that._ Ahsoka decided as the group came to a halt. A group of Forgotten soldiers, elites by their looks, walked out and secured the perimeter, then Dread Milano himself came out. He nodded to her. "Lieutenant."

Ahsoka returned the nod, tapping her wrist EVA. McNeil appeared on top of it as a hologram.

"Dread Milano," McNeil, who nodded his head, said after moving around to make sure that he was getting the proper visual. "General Michael McNeil. I've been authorized to negotiate on GDI's behalf."

Dread Milano nodded. "Very well." He turned to a few large rocks, and sat down. "Please, be comfortable, Lieutenant, General."

Ahsoka nodded and sat down. The talks dragged on a bit as they made sure the wording was precise and clear, but once they got over that hump, the talks went swiftly. GDI would aid the Forgotten with refugee aid and help against Nod, and the Forgotten would pull their strings to get marauder raids by rogue mutants to stop hitting ZOCOM reclamation operations, or assist ZOCOM in said operations.

"Very well, thank you for taking the time, Dread Milano." McNeil said, nodding.

"You're welcome, General McNeil." Milano responded, also nodding.

McNeil cut his connection, and Ahsoka finally let her arm down. It was getting tired from holding it; she had even been forced to use her right hand to support it.

"Sorry about the roundabout way," Milano said, "But unfortunately, mutual distrust is still there, especially with those bands of bandits roaming some of the Zones."

Ahsoka nodded. "Still, it's worth it. I have to return to GDI,"

"Of course. Though if things ever get… problematic, there is always a place amongst the Forgotten."

Ahsoka nodded, and hopped back into the Pitbull, and drove back to the GDI reconstruction base in Sydney.

-

**Ruined ZOCOM Reclamation Base**

**Central Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

Sarah looked around the wreckage of the base. The bodies of Zone Raiders and Troopers, preserved the last month and a half by virtue of their armor's resealing and medical systems, were being recovered. ZOCOM had returned, and found that Nod had fully salvaged everything that they left salvageable… which was quite little. That morning, she had arrived to oversee the reestablishment of ZOCOM in that sector. Off time with Rex was going to have to wait.

"God damn fanatics," Sarah muttered to herself as another destroyed ZOCOM Rocket Harvester was hauled into the base to be salvaged. "They're making it that much more difficult to protect the planet and save humanity."

"If Nod wasn't around," Park commented, walking up, "We probably wouldn't be here now."

"Agreed, though if Reclamation did take this long, we'd probably have rogue mutant marauders still running around."

"Point." Park ceded, "But I doubt that highly."

A ZOCOM APC, with the guns stripped off to open some more room inside, was loaded with the bodies of another Raider squad. _Lost too many here… Three MARVs, twenty-one harvesters, a critical base, almost a hundred Zone Troopers and Raiders, ten Zone Shatterers, four Mammoth Tanks, two dozen Orcas, and a few hundred infantry. Nod must of deployed the elites here._

She had seen the footage of the battle. ZOCOM was ambushed by an elite Nod force, which caught the on-duty MARV off guard and destroyed it, then somehow captured the base's Reclamator hub, and then destroyed two more bases with a surge of reinforcements and a new super walker, the Redeemer.

"Captain!" one of the Zone Troopers shouted, "Think you better see this!"

Sarah ran after the Trooper, heading into the small, ruined village that the MARV had been cleaning Tiberium from when it was ambushed. He lead her into one of the buildings.

"What is it?" Sarah asked as she looked at it.

"It's a downed Avatar war mech… usually nothing too big, right? Well…" He popped the canopy open… and inside, was what looked to be a Firestorm era Cyborg.

_Oh God, do not tell me CABAL is back…_ Sarah thought as she looked at it.

"Take it back to the MCV, we'll study it and see what we can retrieve."

"Ma'am yes ma'am." The Trooper said, saluting quickly.

-

**One Hour Later**

"Well, looks like it was an experimental upgrade to the interface between Avatar and pilot." A ZOCOM scientist finally said. "Ups the connection by 200%, but they have to install a method of dealing with bathroom problems as now they can't disconnect."

"Lovely." Sarah said semi sarcastically. "Thank you, doctor. Tell me if you find anything else."

"Of course."

Sarah was quite relieved; it was just Nod playing advanced weaponry, not CABAL returning. As she walked out, she pulled up the other reports. They had finally gotten a total tally of the dead, and names. Most of the bodies they were able to recover were within the ZOCOM base, where the Zone Armor had managed to seal itself before Tiberium claimed the base area again.

"Lieutenants Park, Conrad." Sarah said via radio. "I'm heading out with the next Harvester patrol to try and contain that Blue Tib to the east. If Command calls, patch them through."

"Roger that Ma'am." Conrad said before returning to rebuilding the base. Sarah got a group of Zone Raiders, four of them, and four Zone Troopers, then headed out with a group of three ZOCOM Rocket Harvesters.

The run continued as it often did. The Harvesters began gathering the Tiberium, and quickly filled up. As they headed back however…

"Get them!" shouted a loud, brutish voice. And suddenly, the ZOCOM convoy was beset by a dozen mutants, armed with Vulcan chain guns salvaged from a GDI 2nd Tiberium War base.

"Guys get the guns going!" shouted one of the Harvester crewmen, and the three Harvesters opened fire with their dual rockets, but the mutant marauders dodged out of the way easily. Sarah aimed, and fired. The sonic grenade sped towards the group, and exploded, scattering the mutants. The Zone Troopers opened fire, killing four, and the other Raiders also opened fire. Within seconds, the group of mutant bandits was killed.

Sarah walked up to them, and examined the remains. _Just clothing._ Sarah noted, as the bodies had been decayed and dusted by Tiberium radiation. "Hey, take a look at this!" Sarah shouted as she pulled up what looked to be an embalm from what was left behind.

"Huh," said one of the Troopers as he looked at it. "Ain't no expert on feral shiners, but I'd say that this belongs to one o' their gangs."

"We take the samples we can and pass it to the Forgotten, see what they can tell us."

-

**Two Hours Later**

After several more runs had been done, Sarah had returned to the ConYard to check on tactical. Their convoy runs were keeping the patch of Blue Tiberium pinned in, preventing its spread. However, they knew it would simply grow back with time, and until they could set up a Tiberium Spike on its outlet, they'd have to keep harvesting the Tiberium. Fortunately, ZOCOM was able to use it much more than most other GDI divisions, due to their duties including rebuilding zones. _Good thing ZOCOM is practically self-financing; we just gotta send extra Tib to GDI brass and let them use a good chunk of it. Keeps the economy going._

She did, however, find it disturbing at times that civilian Reclamation operations occurred quite, run by private companies... GDI had even had to mediate disputes when both sides started hiring guns to attack each other under the easy-to-assume guise of Nod. _I don't like the idea of Tiberium being accessible to the few… smacks of a civil war waiting to happen. Still, we really can't complain, we need the help, especially after Nod's attacks. The trick with the non-GDI help is that we got to make sure they don't turn it into something that'll disrupt the fragile peace, or abuse the vulnerable Yellow Zones._

"Captain," Conrad said walking up to her. "Command Locke on the line."

Sarah nodded. Locke was the grandson of now-deceased First Tiberium War General Adam Locke, and was one of ZOCOM's best. He had led an assault on the Scrin Tower in Assam, India, Yellow Zone Y-3 (and a borderline Red Zone). Recently, he had been assigned to making sure ZOCOM could get back on track with its pre-Third Tiberium War status in north and central Africa. The sudden recall of ZOCOM units had pushed the schedule back considerably. It wasn't a question of material; it was a question of (wo)man power.

As Sarah walked into the communications suite, Locke was already waiting.

"Captain, I'm receiving reports of a large group of non-GDI convoys heading into your area. Our recon believes it is a dangerously overconfident group of mercenaries and freelancers who think bringing in a haul of Tiberium is going to get them somewhere… and it could on the Black Market. We've confirmed that this group doesn't have a permit. Take a team and dissuade them, there's still Nod patrols in the area and I don't want a bunch of hooligans with some fancy suits getting in the way."

"I'm on it, Commander." Sarah said, nodding. Data on the estimated group size connected to her helmet. Slipping it on, she read the data quickly. She turned to Park, who had walked in. "Get me twenty Raiders, twenty Troopers, and a half dozen Predator Tanks. We need too dissuade some freelancers from the Zone."

"Yes ma'am." Park said, saluting briefly.

-

**Three Hours Later**

It had taken a while, especially since a partial Ion Storm had grounded air transportation, but they finally reached the coordinates. Sarah was unsurprised to see a poorly erected Tiberium harvesting facility encircled with a piss poor wall made of scrap metal.

"This is the Malta Mercenaries to unidentified group, you are trespassing." Said a deep, German accented voice.

"Malta Mercenaries, you are unauthorized to act in this Red Zone. Please cease and desist your illegal harvesting operations. If you wish to continue, please acquire the necessary permits at any GDI base before resuming harvesting operations."

"We do not see your authority."

"This is Captain Sarah D. Granger, ZOCOM division, GDI. This is your last warning. If you are having trouble with relocating, we are willing to assist, but you must leave this Zone now."

"We do not see your authority."

"Sorry to hear that. Malta Mercenaries, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain" – Sarah didn't get to finish, suddenly, a rocket sped out, narrowly missing the Predator tank.

"Open fire!" Sarah shouted. Twenty bursts of blue light streaked out from the Zone Troopers' Rail Guns, surging towards the complex, and the Predator Tanks opened fire. Suddenly, four hovercraft sped out of the complex…

"Hover MRLS!" shouted Park, as she fired, and missed, with her grenade launcher. "Where the hell did they get those?"

"Pried them out of an ammo dump probably!" Sarah responded as she jump jetted clear of a rocket about to blow her to heaven. Coming down on top of a MLRS, she punched the canopy, breaking it open. The pilot screamed, pulling out a handgun. Sarah punched him in the face and hurled him out. The MRLS was out of control. Sarah leapt off, landing with a grunt, and the MRLS slammed into the wall, exploding.

Two Zone Troopers and a Zone Raider had been downed by the rockets, and the Predators were having difficulty targeting, several rockets already leaving holes.

Sarah aimed ahead of an MRLS, and fired. The grenade soared forward, and the MRLS slammed into it, exploding and killing the driver.

The remaining two MRLS got hit by the Predator Tanks, and exploded.

"Damn it," Park said, "Wolverines incoming!"

"Good grief!" Sarah shouted as she jump jetted out of the way as several chain gun grounds nearly ended her tour of duty early, "The Talons are going to be pissed!" She aimed between the Wolverine's legs. _The original Wolverine was, quite honestly, a box with legs and a pair of chain guns for arms._ Sarah thought as she fired. She hit the sweet spot, between the legs, a direct hit in the gyro-stabilizer, and like a man whose family jewels were stomped on with a high-heel, the Mark I Wolverine went down.

The Zone Troopers repeated her attack, bringing them down. Unfortunately, another Raider and a Trooper went down before ZOCOM could clean them up.

"You're resilient little buggers, aren't you?" the German mercenary said over the radio. "Let's see how you deal with _this!_"

Two, illegally salvaged first-generation Titians marched out, blasting two of the weakened Predator Tanks to shrapnel. The remaining ZOCOM forces scattered as several heavily armored mercenaries followed the Titians out. _Looks improvised,_ Sarah decided as she looked at the suits, _Probably only offers minimal protection against Tiberium radiation._

ZOCOM spread out, and began ambushing the mercenaries two by two.

Sarah was pinned down as a group focused on her. Another, heavily modified Wolverine Mark I came up, instead of chain guns, it had dual missile launchers.

"Surrender, 'Captain', and we may consider letting you live." The German mercenary, likely inside the modified Wolverine, said.

"Think I should warn you, this will not go unpunished, even if you kill me." Sarah boldly stated, readying the shoulder rocket launchers to fire directly into the cockpit.

"Hey boss," one of the mercenaries said, "The name tag says… well shit, it's a Granger. Probably can get some good creds for her… hey, female Granger. That means the GDI director's new girlfriend. Big profits then."

"Indeed… let's try not to damage her _too_ much, she's wasted on GDI I think…"

Sarah fired before their dirty minds could think of anything else, two rockets streaking forth and hitting the Wolverine in the viewport, smashing it open. Sarah fired a quick shot with the grenade launcher, then jump jetted clear as the mercenaries attempted to shoot her, several bullets hitting her shoulder guard and leg, but nothing got through to her skin.

The others were having more luck than her, and finally, ZOCOM regrouped. The remaining mercenaries attacked, but with their Titians downed to an ambush from Zone Troopers, the remaining foot soldiers went out quickly.

They arrested a dozen Harvester drivers, and confiscated the Harvesters themselves. Capturing everything useful and loading it onto the captured Harvesters, they wired the place with sonic-enhanced C4, and blew the base apart.

In the end, ZOCOM had lost two Zone Raiders and three Zone Troopers to death, but five Raiders and six Troopers were injured. Only two Predator Tanks survived, but the crews of the other four had partially survived. The mercenaries had attacked with surprising force, and left their mark, but overall, ZOCOM had come out on top.

-

**Three Hours Later**

"This is a disturbing trend, Captain Granger." Commander Locke said finally after hearing the report. "I've detected several more mercenary groups with similar armament heading into various Red Zones. According to InOps, a number of opportunistic civilian companies are making plays for undefended or patrolled Zones, in an attempt to take advantage of all the raw Tiberium they can harvest without having to go through GDI paperwork in getting Tiberium Spikes. Normally, we'd put this in low priority, but they're refusing to oblige the Law, instead, they sell the refined Tiberium on the Black Market to any who'll buy, or use it to finance their own projects. This needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Civilian organizations running harvesting operations to assist in Reclamation is one thing, especially if authorized by GDI, but illegal harvesting operations are another."

"Yes sir." Sarah answered, tired. It was nightfall, and she was honestly tired from the fighting.

"Don't take small teams like before; we can't afford casualties like that for every group of mercs. Deploy Mammoth Tanks. I'm going to send you some replacement soldiers, along with a pair of Mammoths to help you make the point." He turned to an aide off the screen.

"Good news, McNeil is going to be sending you Lieutenant Tano, one of GDI's top commandos. Apparently, she knows you, and since she's a mutant herself, she should be able to give you a needed edge."

"I'm acquainted with the good Lieutenant, Commander." Sarah said, nodding. "She is one of GDI's top soldiers." _Of course, she has a unique advantage… fracking 'Force'._

"Very well." Locke said, nodding. "Now, get some sleep." With that, the transmission cut.

-

**Two Days Later**

**En Route to ZOCOM Base**

**Airspace over Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

Ahsoka held onto the rail as the Ox transport came in closer. _Fifty more minutes until we're there… should be a Firehawk escort soon._ The convoy she was coming in with included two Mammoth Tanks being brought in by the reinforced Ox transport, the V-36 Ox, which was upgraded mostly in its strength, allowing it to carry MCVs, Mammoth Tanks, and even Titians. Juggernauts and Behemoths, as well as other walkers, were still too big to be brought in, but Ahsoka suspected that eventually such would be possible.

"Captain Jace to Lieutenant Tano, report please."

"This is Tano, I hear you Captain."

"We're coming up to- Hot shit! Lieutenant, get on the ground _NOW!_ SAM SITES!"

"Get us a landing pilot, NOW!"

"Copy that Lieutenant!" the pilot shouted. Explosions suddenly rocked the air as they began to come down. SAM rockets were flying up in droves, but aiming at the Firehawks that were planning on escorting them in. The SAM sites did not notice the Ox transports until they were almost on the ground, and at that point, they were low enough to avoid taking serious damage.

"Come on, let's move!" Ahsoka shouted, gesturing the troops out of the transport. Fortunately, they had all been equipped properly to fight in Tiberium.

"Incoming!" shouted a rifleman as a Nod force moved up.

"Captain Granger, this is Lieutenant Tano, we're pinned down about sixty klicks south of the base, Nod ambush."

Static was her only answer. "Great…" Ahsoka muttered; she cocked her Rail Carbine and took point, getting closer towards the incoming tanks.

"Lieutenant, we need to get rid of those SAM sites!" shouted a rifleman. "They're keeping us pinned down- FUCK! Tiberian Fiends! South flank!"

And sure enough, a dozen dog-like creatures with avian beaks and Tiberium on their backs were rushing for the GDI forces. The Riflemen shot at them, killing six. The Mammoth Tanks opened fire with their dual Rail Guns, killing four. The remaining two leapt over the makeshift rock barricade and mauled four GDI infantrymen dead before being shot by the others.

Ahsoka rushed forward, dodging laser fire, and leapt onto the Scorpion tanks, shooting the cockpits and killing the drivers, then leaping over to the next tank and repeating the process.

As Ahsoka finished off the last tank, she spotted a horde of Militants surging forward, a sickly green gas surrounding them. _Tiberium Infusion._ Ahsoka decided, rolling behind the wreckage of a Scorpion tank and opening fire.

"Lieutenant, we got Nod units coming in on all sides. We need to evac _now_!"

"I know, Sergeant!" Ahsoka responded, "But we can't get clear with those SAM sites! I'm going to try and destroy them, do what you have to!"

The GDI forces began to dig in as much as possible as more Militants, Raider Buggies, and Attack Bikes came in by the drove. Ahsoka disengaged from the main force, and slipped to the side. As she moved toward the reported SAM site, she suddenly shouted, falling into a pit.

Landing roughly, she looked around… she had fallen into a camouflaged pit, inside was a backpack… with a discus shaped item ready to be pulled out and plenty more loaded onto it… _A GDI Disk Thrower's backpack… but where's the… oh._ She noticed a ragged suit next to her… _he died…_

Pulling the backpack on, she leapt out. As she came out, a group of Nod militants prepared to open fire, but Ahsoka, with a quick throw, send one of the explosive discus' in the middle of their group, and blew them to cinders as the discus exploded. As Ahsoka landed, she spotted the SAM site hubs. There were three, totaling for nine SAM launchers. Ahsoka headed up to the first one, noting it was defended by a laser fence… and if she tried to leap over, the SAM site would be able to shoot her by virtue her high angle of attack. She slid a discus out, and with an expert throw, hurled it into the hub. She fired another one, and another, and finally, the SAM site exploded.

_Even outdated,_ Ahsoka decided as she pulled the backpack tighter, making sure it did not fall off, _an explosive is an explosive._

Crossing the terrain with difficulty, Ahsoka repeated the process with the other two, similarly defended, SAM sites.

The Nod assault broke as the Firehawks returned. Ahsoka rejoined the GDI forces, and aided them in holding the line while the Firehawks came in.

Finally, they got back onto the remaining Ox transports, and headed to the ZOCOM base.

-

**An Hour Later**

**ZOCOM Base**

**Central Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

Sarah nodded along as Ahsoka gave her report on the incident. When Ahsoka finished, Sarah pulled her helmet off of the table.

"Alright Lieutenant, I'm heading out to take out another group of mercs. While I'm gone, I want you to take a team and clear the sector of rogue mutants. There's a particular group called the Central Marauders. If you find them, try and capture a few of them. Alive."

_So… escort duty. Fun._ Ahsoka knew why escort duty was important for ZOCOM, Red Zones often had particular hot-spots that needed to be contained, veins of crystalline Tiberium often came out, so if ZOCOM couldn't contain those, Tiberium would spread even farther, counteracting ZOCOM's efforts. By harvesting the Tiberium nearer to the veins, ZOCOM would be able to kill two birds with one stone and create a buffer zone before Tiberium grew back on the edge of their work with Sonic Emitters and Shatterers.

Ahsoka tapped her wrist EVA, and nodded as she saw the time for the next convoy heading out. _Five minutes 'till they're ready to go. Better go join them._


	21. Chapter 21: Red Zone Rampage

_In their prime, the Steel Talons could have destroyed the Brotherhood. However, the focus of GDI in favor of ZOCOM has denied this from happening. This simulation will pit you against our top combat analysts, who will replicate the Talons tactics, as well as adapt them to what we suspect they will adapt. Their 'ground and pound' doctrine gives them a considerable edge in steamrolling us, thus I trust you to develop new tactics, so we can prepare to test them in the field. I understand you are weary of waiting in the shadows, my son, but Sister Oxanna is more than capable of distracting GDI in preparation for the next, unfortunately necessary stage of the great plan._

Kane, briefing the Legendary Insurgent before the latter begins a simulated battle with the Steel Talons.

**Chapter 21: Red Zone Rampage**

**ZOCOM Convoy**

**Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

Ahsoka nodded as the five Harvesters finished their collection and turned back to the ZOCOM base. Ahsoka was, thanks to her Force abilities, capable of keeping up with Zone Armored soldiers, and since she was the only non-Zone Armor wearing GDI infantrywoman, this worked out fine. Her team was simple, eight Zone Troopers and four Zone Raiders. As they reached about halfway back however… it happened.

Four Tick Tanks, the Nod 2nd Tiberium War mainline tank, rusty and old, rolled out and opened fire, accompanied by twenty mutant soldiers dual wielding heavy pistols. Two more mutants appeared, carrying heavy rocket launchers. The tanks opened fire, missing the harvesters with only inches to spare.

"We got looters!" shouted one of the Harvester drivers, and ten rockets, two from each harvester, sped towards the Tick tanks. The rockets, four heading for two and two to one, took out two of the tick tanks, and damaged a third. Ahsoka opened fire on the mutant infantry. Zone Troopers fired their Rail Guns and killed several mutants, blowing their chests or legs off. The Raiders opened fire as well with their grenade launchers, scattering the mutants and preventing the rocket launcher wielding ones from firing at the Harvesters. Ahsoka shoot the last mutant soldiers with her Rail Carbine. The Harvesters then finished the job, blowing the Tick Tanks to scrap with their dual rockets.

As Ahsoka looked over the wreckage, she now appreciated General Renteria ordering ZOCOM's Harvesters to be outfitted with dual rocket launchers. _I admit it, the ZOCOM Rocket Harvester is better than the Talon's Heavy Harvester… though the Talon one is more versatile._ The Steel Talons forwent automatically equipping their Harvesters with guns, instead, they added a bunker on top to allow one of the Steel Talon's infantry squads to join the ride and use their guns. It was quite efficient as it could be adjusted for threats, Riflemen inside if there's infantry, missile troopers if it's armor or air. Even Grenadiers used it sometimes if Nod or raiders had hid in old, abandoned civilian buildings, allowing them to clean the garrisoned foes out.

Heading over to the remains, she picked up what looked to be a journal off of one of the troopers. She flipped it open, but couldn't recognize the words. _Probably a local language._ Ahsoka decided, recalling that Africa had more languages locally then there were Zones. _I'll take it back and let the pencil necks translate._

"Lieutenant, we're heading back. Let's go." One of the Troopers said. Ahsoka caught up easily. The trip back was uneventful. Harvesters began to deposit the Tiberium into a refinery for melting down into Liquid Tiberium to be either refined further for use in replacement parts/ammo, or shipped to the primary GDI factories or treasury for use elsewhere. While they did that, Ahsoka handed in some of the samples of writings they had found on one of the dead mutant bandits.

Four hours later, they had done a few dozen trips; the field contained for the time, the only Tiberium spilling out from the vein was what was slowly coming back. _Of_ _course,_ Ahsoka remembered, _it'll be a while until it can be bottled up properly and get a Tiberium Spike built over it._

The day was pretty dull besides that raid. As Ahsoka walked into the barracks however, something did happen.

"Lieutenant!" shouted one of the soldiers, a private. "The Cap'n wants to talk to you."

Ahsoka nodded, and went towards the ConYard. As she walked into tactical, she could tell something had happened by the mood shift of the officers present.

"Captain." Ahsoka said briefly, a quick salute.

"Lieutenant… take a look at this." Sarah said, punching something up on the screen. A man in black, heavy armor and with an oversized missile launcher was poised, and fired. A flaming missile sped into the sky, the missile trailing a massive cone of fire. It hit an Ox transport that was flying by, the Ox taking the hit, clearly damaged, but still flying… but the flames remained, seeming to grow stronger, as the shrapnel from the rocket ignited smaller fires. The Ox went down as the flame spread, and crashed. The remains however were grabbed slowly by something… and the footage cut.

"This was taken at 1500 hours by SkySentry. Since then, SkySentry has reported a Black Hand MCV deploying five hundred kilometers south of our base. The base then disappeared from view. Disruption Towers cut off any visuals we could get. General Renteria ordered an Ion Cannon blast, but it was disrupted by what we suspect to be Ion Disruption Towers. Since then, the Black Hand has set up several more fake Disruption Towers, and Black Hand forces are out raiding our convoys as well as the other mercenary and bandit groups. We haven't identified any key objectives, but they seem to be deploying old, Second-Tiberium war harvesters… but a modified version… Weed Eaters."

Second Tiberium War veterans paled as they realized the implications. Conrad walked up, and said, "Now, we can't confirm they're trying to make chemical missiles, but the construction going on indicates something very important. The area they've been sending those Weed Eaters to is actually the former location of the mother of all Veinholes… the Genesis Pit."

Ahsoka was stunned. Veinholes were monsters from the Second Tiberium War. When she heard one described to her, the first thing she thought of was a sarlacc. Veinholes were a subtype of Tiberium… except they didn't absorb the environment, or were crystalline, there were organic… they ate what they could… metal, animals… people. The Genesis Pit was a valley where Tiberium had reached nigh critical levels during the Second Tiberium War, and mutated most of the wildlife there. During the beginning of the Firestorm Crisis, Nod, under CABAL's direction, had agitated the Pit so much that it spewed Tiberian wildlife out by the company, wrecking a GDI base and assaulting civilian settlements._ And General Granger, then a commando/commander, lead a counter attack to destroy it and save the civilians, wiping the Genesis Pit out… since then, it was quiet… but if it's starting to regrow…_

Sarah then took the forefront, "Look, we've been ordered to continue as usual, but I want everyone on high alert. We're going to have to be cautious with increased Nod activity, especially from the Black Hand. SkySentry reports that the Weed Eaters are having no luck, and that we might as well just let them try to harvest, since every trip, they return empty handed. The Forgotten have confirmed this, they maintain a small listening post nearby. However, they do report the Black Hand is up to _something_ over there. Regardless, until we get specific orders, we continue as planned. All convoys are to have an escort increase, and by escort increase I mean we're sending Predator Tanks and APCs with troops out, rather than the usual Zone escort. All On-Duty soldiers are to find a patrol to join unless they're part of a rapid-response squad or have garrison duty. Am I understood?"

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" echoed everyone in the room.

"Dismissed." Sarah said, and gestured for Ahsoka to come over. Everyone left the room, leaving the two alone.

"Lieutenant… what I did not tell everyone is that you will be, as a Commando, heading out to confirm or deny that the Genesis Pit is once more active. Do not tell anyone you're going, I want another layer to cover the stealth part of this operation. If it is, clear the hell out and sound the alarm. If not, reconnoiter the area and report findings. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you're on an emergency liaison run to the Forgotten."

Ahsoka nodded, _And note to self, do not infiltrate the Black Hand base alone…_

-

**Nightfall**

Ahsoka crept out of the GDI base. The orders were clear: No GDI soldier was to see her leave, in the event any happened to be working for Nod. She leapt over the sonic fence encircling the base, dodging a Watchtower's scanner. She then sprinted forward, getting clear. She continued for another few minutes, then, as Sarah had promised, a GDI Pitbull was waiting. Unlocking it with her ID tag, she got behind the wheel and drove.

A few hours passed as she drove, Ahsoka encountered nothing beyond the occasional, non-hostile 'baby Visceroid' as she drove through the hellscape that is a Red Zone. _Surprisingly peaceful for a Red Zone…_ Ahsoka decided; the Ion Storms in the area had even subsided. The Pitbull's radio, which she had turned on just so she wouldn't fall asleep, was set to a popular station, _199.5_, made famous by the fact that it's founder, Frank Kelpacki, was a musical genius. Both GDI and Nod liked his music, which was an irony given the two sides were usually at each other's throats. _If it was Earth's World War One,_ Ahsoka decided, _They'd of put down their guns during the holidays and had a dance off to his stuff if a 'Christmas Truce' happened._

She glanced at the map, and skidded the Pitbull to a stop. Glancing around, she saw a small alcove. _Good, I can hide the Pitbull there._ Driving into it, she shut the Pitbull down, got out, and locked it. She crept towards the Genesis Pit. She sniffed, and sensed many Tiberium life forms… She shut her wrist EVA radar off. _Can't have EVA blaring out warnings… there's going to be plenty of Tiberium life forms out here…_

She crept ahead, and spotted some Tiberian Fiends, a pack of them, heading towards the Genesis Pit. _It's like… it's like they're heading to a meeting of some sort…_ Creeping ahead with predatory grace, she kept low, keeping her Rail Carbine handy. She reached to edge of the Pit, a deep valley. Looking in, she spotted a pair of Black Hand Harvesters, of the Second Tiberium War. _Weed Eaters._ Ahsoka decided, pulling out binoculars. _Yep… they're trying to harvest it… scratching the decaying remains of the Veinhole… and leaving some sort of dust? Perhaps from the mummified veins… seems Tiberium doesn't eat itself._

She then noticed a few Black Hand Disciples walking out, spraying… some sort of water onto the veins. _What are they doing?_ She slowly, cautiously, extended her awareness towards the veins… but she was too far. _Alright, need to get closer._ She quietly slid down; moving closer to the Black Hand forces, remaining alert for she knew that there may be Shadow Teams in the area. Hiding behind a large Tiberium glacier, she extended her awareness again… and felt something… hungry… the veins… and something further along…

"That's all we have for tonight, let's get back." One of the Disciples said, as whatever he was spreading ran out, his heavy armor obviously protecting him from Tiberium. _Must of modified the plates to be anti-Tib._ Ahsoka decided, _Probably nicked Zone stuff and replicated it. Right, better avoid them…_

Another Disciple commented, "Man, GDI and their mutant buds won't know what hit 'em, 'specially once we feed their little slut officer to the Pit."

"Silence," a Confessor said, turning, "We know not what listens."

She waited for the Black Hand to leave, and, when she was confident they were a good distance away, she crept towards the Veinhole. Immediately she felt the eyes of many Tiberium life forms looking at her… but they ignored her, like another member of the pack… even though she was in GDI armor and was carrying a Rail Carbine. She felt the presence Veinhole's mouth, the central part of it. It was… alive… _The Genesis Pit is returning!_ Ahsoka realized. _ZOCOM needs to get a Zone Scientist team down here pronto!_ Suddenly, she felt a more specific desire… like… a trade that was done: _The daughter of the one who burned me for my aid._ Those were the words that passed through Ahsoka's head, and when combined with what she overhead.... _Stang… the Pit wants Sarah as revenge against Granger senior… _

She turned and sprinted out, towards the Pitbull, leaping up to various Tiberium glaciers that jutted out of the valley, using them as stepping stones to get clear. She unlocked the Pitbull, turned it back on, and stepped on the gas, heading straight for the GDI base. She tried to hail the base, but it was clear: interference from the _very_ rough terrain, Tiberium, and potentially Black Hand jamming as well, had cut her off from communications.

-

**The Next Morning**

**ZOCOM Base**

**Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

Ahsoka hadn't checked back in yet, but Sarah wasn't worried, yet. _She probably reached the Pit at Midnight, so she'll probably be back by the time we get the first convoy through._ Suited up in her normal Zone Raider armor, she checked her shoulder rocket launchers and her grenade launcher. Satisfied with her equipment, she joined the convoy heading out to a particularly troublesome vein of Tiberium. According to a Zone Scientist team, the Scrin had used a Growth Accelerator on it, a subterranean one, which proved difficult to remove even with them dropping sonic bombs down it by the truckload. _Probably won't ever get removed,_ Sarah decided, _So we just gotta contain it until we can slap a extra powerful Tiberium Spike on top._

Three quarters of the way there, Sarah's radar blinked.

"Hang on, I'm detecting… _STEALTH TANKS_!" she shouted as green rockets suddenly appeared in a hailstorm at the maximum range of their stealth detection systems, destroying the first Harvester. Stealth Tanks, their stealth capabilities nullified, were coming in volleying rockets. Suddenly, Shadow Teams appeared as well, shooting Zone Troopers dead. In the distance, several dragon like rockets of hellfire sped out, six of them destroying a Harvester. Sarah fired her grenade launcher, but it was too late: The convoy was being reduced to rubble as Stealth Tanks, Black Hand Missile Disciples, and Shadow Teams dispatched the convoy quickly, but the Raiders and Troopers managed to down several of the Shadows.

Coming out of a stealthed transport, a dozen Black Hand Disciples and a pair of Confessors came out. Sarah opened fire, but the Black Hand withstood it, though it clearly hurt them, one of their members flying away dead. They rushed her in melee combat, knocking her weapons out of her hand and pinning her down. _What the hell do they want with me?_ Sarah wondered as the Black Hand, with great difficulty from her struggling, strapped her to a slab of black metal, hands and feet spread out in an X. Her helmet and shoulder rocket launchers were removed, stuffing her and the slab into the transport.

"Sarah Granger," a Confessor said gruffly, looking at her. "You should consider yourself honored we bother _capturing_ you, over simply killing you. I think you will find the Genesis Pit's Veinhole to be… a _very_ good friend for you… and you GDI scum in general."

_Oh God…_ Sarah thought as the implications whirred through her head… Tiberium life forms spreading out and leaving the zone… Yellow Zones being attacked… a world wide crisis as Tiberium life, once thought reduced and the crystal instead being the problem, and GDI stretched beyond its limits… Sarah looked out the transport as the door shut… Park's lifeless body was there, sprawled out. She had taken a direct hit to the chest from a Shadow Team. In the distance, an Ion Storm began to rage.

-

**Twenty Minutes Later**

Ahsoka leapt out of the Pitbull as she came across the battle site. She rushed across, looking for survivors. She found Park… and saw she barely breathed, but was alive.

"Hang on," Ahsoka said as she, with difficulty (Zone Armor is heavy after all), pulled Park out of the way. GDI Hammerheads appeared overhead, several other ZOCOM Zone Troopers and Raiders still alive… but those still alive were badly wounded… _Half of them won't even live out the night…_ Ahsoka realized, wishing she had been there half an hour earlier…

"Captain Granger…" Park muttered as Ahsoka got her to a Hammerhead, "captured… Black Hand…" she passed out before she could say anything else. ZOCOM medics, wearing Tiberium field suits specially modified for medical work got to work immediately, either clearing someone as dead, or working to save their lives.

"I'll go after them," Ahsoka whispered to Park. As she transferred Park to the care of the medics, she turned all her EVA unit's functions back on.

Ahsoka's wrist EVA beeped. She answered it, "Tano here."

"Lieutenant," it was Conrad, Sarah's ConYard operator, "Just got the news. You have the command. Commando Lieutenant outranks ConYard LT, and since the designated second in command is out, you're pretty much highest authority we have until Command does reassignments."

"Got it," Ahsoka said. "Officer meeting, all officers available, including Staff Sergeants, twenty minutes."

"Got it."

Ahsoka hung up; there was nothing more she could do here. Getting back into the Pitbull, she drove back to the ZOCOM base.

-

**Officer Meeting Room**

**ZOCOM Base**

**Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

Ahsoka looked at the assembled 'officers'… Lieutenant Conrad, who had delegated command to Ahsoka as he was a ConYard officer, not a soldier, and a dozen staff sergeants in standard ZOCOM Tiberium Field Suits, sans helmets, which were laid in front of them.

"Alright," Ahsoka said finally, "I'll be blunt: We just had our command cut out from under us. The Captain's captured, and the second in command, Lieutenant Park, is currently being administered in the medical bay. Lieutenant Conrad has issued me the command here, and here's the course of action I'm purposing."

She punched up the tactical map, scaling it down to a five hundred kilometer radius around the base. Several Black Hand symbols appeared, with tick marks at the bottom corner of the rhombus used. A ZOCOM symbol appeared in the center in a circle, with two more in a rhombus. One of the Black Hand rhombuses, a strike force, was moving towards the Black Hand base, which was estimated with a circle.

"The Black Hand convoy is too well covered, and an Ion Storm is cutting off access to the Ion Cannon," Ahsoka explained. "Much as I hate to admit it, launching persuit and rescuing her directly won't work. However," she moved the focus over towards the Genesis Pit, "There's confirmation that the Black Hand is operating here. Tiberium life, mostly Visceroids and Fiends, are gathering here. The Black Hand seems to be reawakening the Genesis Pit. According to records, it was destroyed by now-General Jack Granger, back when he was the commander of the Firestorm Taskforce. However, it's returning, and it's evolved."

The two ZOCOM strike forces moved towards the Genesis pit, the Black Hand ones grouping together and also moving.

"I plan on stopping the Black Hand from getting the chance to speed this up. We intercept the Black Hand here," Ahsoka pointed at a small valley between two cliffs, a short ways before the Genesis Pit… one that had large Tiberium glaciers providing interesting fire support positions. "They can't be allowed to reach the Pit. Ideally, afterwards we call in some scientists and get some more data, but if not; Conrad will have an evac team on stand-by for a tactical retreat."

"Lieutenant…" one of the Sergeants asked, "How do you know this?"

"I went on a recon mission, at the orders of the Captain." Ahsoka explained, "Overheard the Black Hand talking about it and saw them fertilize the Pit, for lack of a better term."

The Sergeants muttered to each other briefly. Ahsoka knew why, none of them were informed, so it sounded a bit weird. _Well, tough._ Ahsoka decided, _If all went well, Sarah would have been able to fill them in. She's captured, so it's this way._

"Squad assignments will be sent, we need to stop this before it blows into another crisis." Ahsoka finally said, breaking the silence. "I'm going to inform Commander Locke of the situation, see if we can get some reinforcement."

One by one, the sergeants left. Ahsoka sighed; _things are unraveling again… ever since the _Philadelphia,_ it's been an almost never ending series of problems…_

-

**Six hours Later**

**Genesis Pit**

**Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

Ahsoka nodded to the sergeant as they got into position. They had set up several strategically placed ZOCOM Zone Shatterers, which would use their sonic overload capabilities to shake a Tiberuim glacier with Sonics so much that it collapsed, cutting the Black Hand off from retreating. If all went well, they'd be able to defeat the squad, rescue Granger, and find out what the heck the Black Hand was up to.

"Black Hand convoy coming on schedule, Lieutenant." A spotter said, pulling his sniper rifle out in preparation. His Tiberium Field Suit was customized with camouflage, a rare thing, given that the point of the armor was to be visible when cut off. Ahsoka nodded. "Ready the Shatterers on my mark, Predators, stand by to engage. Conrad, get ready to nullify stealth capabilities."

"Standing by, Lieutenant." Conrad responded via radio.

The Black Hand convoy entered optimal range… _A little closer… a little closer…_

"Fire!" Ahsoka shouted. Suddenly, multiple supersonic screams roared out, echoing across the landscape. Tiberium glaciers behind the Black Hand, once secure on the edges of the cliff, collapsed and barricaded them in, the only route to escape: Through the GDI ambush. Suddenly, sniper fire and tank shells soared in, as the Stealth Tank escort was revealed by heavy radar interference, a radar technique developed by GDI to nullify Nod's stealth advantage… temporarily. The five Flame Tanks and five Stealth Tanks moved forward, as heavily armored infantry, Black Hand Disciples, both regular, flamethrower wielding, and the missile version, rushed out, several missiles flying out.

The Zone Shatterers, their batteries recovered from overload, opened fire, demolishing two Flame tanks. Rockets from ZOCOM Missile Troopers destroy the other Flame Tanks while the Predators opened fire, taking out four of the stealth tanks. The remaining infantry rushed forward, almost into flamethrower range. Ahsoka opened fire with her Rail Carbine, mowing down a number of them. GD-2 rifle rounds rushed out, joining the sniper fire.

Within a minute, GDI had demolished the convoy, the transport now making a move to escape. Ahsoka aimed at the cockpit; barely making the driver out… she aimed, and fired. The windshield shattered with the driver collapsing, smoking holes in his chest. Suddenly, Zone Troopers and Raiders came flying out of their cover, landing on the transport and forcing it open, leaping inside. A few flashes of light were visible from within.

"Lieutenant," one of the Zone Troopers reported, "We found the captain. Our strike was pretty fracking good; they didn't get the chance to try anything."

"Thanks for the rescue, Lieutenant." Sarah said, gratefully. "However, I doubt our victory is that easy. The Genesis Pit is being reactivated by the Black Hand."

"I know," Ahsoka answered, "Alright, let's reverse what the Black Hand has done. Zone Scientists, you still here?"

"We're waiting, ma'am." Reported one of them.

"Alright, let's get down there. Troopers, Raiders, you're coming for this. The rest of you, set up a temporary watch post, use the modules the APCs are carrying.

GDI soldiers began setting up a temporary camp, while Ahsoka lead the Zone armored GDI soldiers down to the Pit itself. Sarah, with her helmet returned to her, was sent to the emergency triage they had set up.

As they entered the Pit however, it became clear as they looked in: Thousands, if not millions, of Tiberium life forms had gathered, and not just Visceroids and Fiends, but even some Floaters, flying, jellyfish like creatures that released toxic Tiberium gas to propel themselves forward, as well as mutating any unprotected creature. Or surge electricity through a vehicle, destroying it and electrocuting the drivers. _Probably could do the same to Zone Armor… we're outgunned…_

Suddenly, with a savage war cry, many of the creatures rushed the GDI forces.

"Back!" Ahsoka shouted, opening fire with the Rail Carbine. "Can't hold 'em… Conrad, need Evac pronto!"

"Stand by, Lieutenant, transports en route. ETA five minutes."

"Great…" Ahsoka muttered as they reached the temporary camp. Soldiers were scrambling to get guns and cover set up, Predator Tanks and Shatterers setting up to open fire. _I sure hope the sonic guns rip these things up,_ Ahsoka thought, _Because we're out gunned…_

A minute later, the first wave of Fiends and Visceroids came into view. "FIRE!" Ahsoka shouted, and the snipers took out a couple of them. Sonic waves rippled out from the Shatterers, killing any of the Tiberium life forms they hit. More waves continued; GD-2 and Rail Gun fire now joining the sonic waves and sniper rounds. Ahsoka opened fire with the Rail Carbine, hoping to slow them down long enough for the evacuation team to arrive.

The Fiends began to spit Tiberium crystals out from their backs, lodging themselves in the armor of GDI Riflemen. Visceroids got close and attempted to slather soldiers, but they found that the field suits were resistant to the toxic deluge for the most part, but some managed to steadily melt it down to size. Seeing this, the Visceroids rushed forward and began mauling GDI soldiers. Ahsoka shot one off of a sergeant, who was about to get his face crushed.

"Thanks," he said, grabbing his rifle and shooting another Visceroid.

Two minutes of hard, brutal fighting later, Ahsoka heard the whine of VTOL engines. Orcas, with ZOCOM sonic grenades appeared over head, and barraged the incoming Fiends and Visceroids. Ox transports landed, infantry and tanks alike getting onto one or being latched. As Ox transports filled up, they took off. Ahsoka remained, holding them off with every shot she could get.

"Lieutenant!" shouted an Ox pilot, "Last transport, get on board!"

Ahsoka disengaged, running. GDI riflemen from the Ox transport opened fire, covering her. "Get it going!" Ahsoka shouted, priming her underused Jump Jet for a launch. The Ox lifted off, keeping the hatch open. _If this doesn't work, I'll be a nice meal pretty soon…_ She tapped her wrist EVA, and, using the Force to guide her leap, she ignited the Jump Jet, soaring higher than usual. She landed, with a grunt and roll, into the transport's cargo bay. The door slammed shut. "OK hold on ladies and gents! Or in this case, lady and gents."

Ahsoka got up and grabbed one of the Ox transport's rails, and it sped away, Firehawks coming in to escort, the Orcas having rushed back to reload.

"What the hell was that?" asked one of the soldiers.

"I dunno trooper," a Sergeant commented, "But I do know that the last time this happened, plenty of chaos ensued."

"Conrad," Ahsoka said, activating her wrist EVA again, "Get me contact with Commander Locke. Tell him… the Genesis Pit has reawakened."

"Right away ma'am," Conrad responded, "But a full link may need to wait until you get back."

"Understood. Warn him about the situation and get GDI on alert, if those things are now running rampant…" Ahsoka was cut off as an explosion rocked the side. The Firehawks dived down, two of them dropping Hellcat bombs.

"Sorry about that." A Firehawk pilot explained, "Few Nod Attack Bikes wanted to play. They're dead now."

"Good shot," Ahsoka said, then tried hailing Conrad again. No signal. _Blasted rockets…_

-

**One Hour Later**

**ZOCOM Base**

**Africa**

**Red Zone R-2**

"I don't know what's activated it Commander," Ahsoka said, "But it's awake, and it's pissed. I think that it's evolved into some sort of EVA unit, if you know what I mean. We haven't been able to get close enough to confirm, but the eggheads are suspecting the Black Hand modified the DNA using the Weed Eaters to open the thick husks so they could add their mutagen."

Locke frowned, rubbing his clean-shaven chin. "And the Captain, what did they want with her?"

"Recovered data from the Black Hand transport, as well as what I was able to gather from my recon of the Pit, it was something of a trade. Sarah Granger's life for the Genesis Pit, as far as I can tell, siding with Nod. Since then, all Black Hand units have fallen back into the base. EVA also reported that there were reports of Nod transports leaving, but we couldn't get a proper lock on them. We don't have enough answers, Commander, and too many questions."

Locke nodded. "Very well. The medics have told me that Lieutenant Park will be out of duty for a few weeks. Unfortunately, we don't have enough officers for this. General Mitchell has talked with Renteria, since you're the only Steel Talons commando, you're temporarily under ZOCOM command, and will be in charge of this operation until further notice. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir." Ahsoka answered. _Don't worry, it's just temporary, you'll probably be back testing Titians once this is all over._ She knew ZOCOM was a good cause, and that she was a natural in a Tiberium environment, but she had one problem… it wasn't her. Sure, there was some excitement from the occasional raids, but Ahsoka was a fighter, she knew it, and the Talons, when they weren't hunting Nod, were using non-lethal training rounds on each other in friendly, but heated, competitions and training fights. _If Palpatine didn't order all Jedi able to use lightsabers and old enough to be Padawans out in the field to be officers for the Clone Army,_ Ahsoka thought,_ I might never of become this._ She had, many times, wondered how she would of turned out if the Clone Wars never happened._ Probably would of wound up with Skyguy still, just we wouldn't be in a war._

"Very well. SkySentry is busy realigning, a terrorist attack on one of their bunkers gave it some fritz, so for now, get the base back in order, do some advanced cleaning of the Tiberuim, then, once preparations are made to shift focus towards containing this mess, send out heavy patrols and clean the place of any, and I mean _ANY,_ Tiberian Life Forms. Visceroids, baby or adult, Fiends, and by all that's divine, the Floaters. Stay the hell away from the Genesis Pit, we can't deal with that yet until we confirm what is wrong with it, and we'd like to know weather or not an Ion Cannon blast will set off a liquid Tiberium explosion like the last time we tried it on a Tib-heavy area…"

_AKA, the Sarajevo disaster…_ Ahsoka then realized how much GDI had depended on the Ion Cannon… _The first battle of the war, a small skirmish in North Carolina, the base was a bit bigger then expected… we used the Ion Cannon. Lost a lot of good men, so many caught off guard… and we learned how much we relied on the Ion Cannon network. Once the Scrin came, it was Ion Cannon as much as possible, once we got it, we used it. Still, the Talon's Orbital Bombardment slugs are a bit more tactical… if less showy._

"Understood, Commander."

"Oh, by the way," Locke said, "General Granger wanted me to… pass on the gratitude for a good rescue op. Excellently planned strike, Lieutenant, and good initiative."

"Thank you," Ahsoka said, giving a curt nod. Locke nodded, and cut the transmission. Ahsoka spent the next two hours organizing the base and getting everything in, sending out Orca squadrons to blast any Tiberium marked for harvest apart with their sonic weaponry.

-

Finally, when all the preparations had been made for a few days worth of heavy patrols, alarms went off.

"What the kark is going on?" Ahsoka shouted, looking at one of the sensor officers.

"Ion Storm! Aw FUCK!" one of the sensor officers shouted, "We got Tiberian life forms coming in hot, Fiends and Visceroids by the metric and US standard fuckaton!"

"How much is a fuckaton?" another asked, trying to realign sensors to the Ion Storm.

"A fucking ton, private!"

"Less chatter, more battle stations!" Ahsoka shouted, rushing out the door and loading her Rail Carbine. As she got outside, she realized it: Huge numbers of Tiberian life forms were rushing forward, the Watchtowers and Sonic Emitters opening fire immediately, keeping them away from the sonic wall encircling the base. GDI soldiers were digging in, tanks were being crewed, but aircraft were being stowed in protective hangers. The Ion Storm was keeping them grounded. She rushed to where several GDI soldiers had dug foxholes, and were busy shooting at the incoming Tiberian life forms from the cover and elevation offered, as they had mounted a few layers of sandbags to create a 'floor'. Landing on top, Ahsoka, with top marksmanship, picked off the incoming Fiends and Visceroids one by one with the Rail Carbine. Although the Tiberian life forms were going down hard, they just kept coming.

"They must of followed us!" shouted one of the ZOCOM snipers in the Foxhole that Ahsoka had gotten on.

"Keep shooting, maybe it'll get the message across!" Ahsoka responded, sniping a Tiberian Fiend in the head. After that, she spotted it: A Tiberian Floater moving in gracefully.

"Anti-Air, target that Floater _NOW!_" Ahsoka shouted.

"Ma'am, we need it marked, we can't see through this damn smoke and lightning!"

Ion lightning began streaking down, and it was clear: Targeting was going to get more and more hellish for GDI.

Ahsoka vaulted into the Foxhole from behind, and looked at a spotter. "Mind if I borrow this?" she grabbed his laser pointer, and hopped on top. Attaching it to the carbine, she aimed at the floater, lighting the pointer. Suddenly, a large burst of anti-aircraft shells, firing rapidly, sped out and hit the floater, wounding it. More rounds poured out, and finally, it went down, exploding with liquid Tiberium.

"That'll show 'em… ehwua, what the HELL is that?!"

A massive, four legged creature was walking out… it was like an elephant or wholly mammoth… _A mammoth._ Ahsoka decided, _A mammoth that can rival a Mammoth Tank…_

"Lieutenant!" static, "Locke here" static, "Evac" static, "impossible odds" static.

"Repeat, Commander!" Ahsoka shouted back into her wrist EVA.

"RETREAT!" Locke shouted, the rest of it cut off by static.

"You heard him, Conrad," Ahsoka shouted, "oversee evac procedures and get us a clearance! Assault Platoon Delta, Assault Platoon Beta, Tank Division Tau, we're going to hold the line until evac is complete."

"Got it ma'am, moving tanks into position." A Predator Tank officer responded. The two Mammoth Tanks moved up to support, firing their dual Rail Guns. Quickly, APCs and Harvesters were loaded with what they could get onboard, soldiers stuffing personal effects into their backpacks (ZOCOM soldiers had surprisingly few, Ahsoka had noticed, in fact, she had all of hers in her belt pouch still), and generally preparing an evacuation. The Ion Storm began to clear… _Just in time,_ Ahsoka decided, _we need air support!_

The Orcas took off, bombing the Fiends and Visceroids with sonic rockets, blasting them apart. Despite this however, the numbers and strength that was coming had began to wear down the ZOCOM defenses: Watchtowers were going down, and Sonic Emitters were taking considerable damage. Ox transports and Hammerheads took off, loaded with everything they could get, and a land convoy was also heading out.

"Ma'am," one of the Orca pilots said via radio to Ahsoka as she rolled out of the way, a Tiberian Fiend almost mauling her, "Time for evac for the delaying squads, you know the drill." Another run by the Orcas had knocked out enough space, but the Tiberian Mammoth was getting too close… and it was firing massive shards into what was left of the defenses. Hammerheads landed, spitting bullets out of their Vulcan Chain Guns, and GDI infantry rushed onboard. Ahsoka, shooting as she moved back, kept cover going. Finally, the tanks lifted out and the Mammoth coming in too close, she broke into a run and leapt onto the Hammerhead as it began to take off. As they flew away, the base was cleansed of anyone who had stayed behind… fortunately, only the dead were left behind…

"Commander Locke…" Ahsoka said slowly, opening a channel to him now that she was out of Ion Storm interference, "We got a problem…"

"Agreed." Locke answered, "Your land evacuation convoys are in need of support. I want to debrief you personally, but your men need you. Get down there and help them, I'm arranging for more Ox transports to go and pick them up. Until then, having them head north northwest, mark four, zero, point five."

"Roger that Commander. Pilot, land near the land evacuation convoy, I'm going to get off with them."

"Copy that Lieutenant." The Hammerhead began to lower, and landed ahead of the convoy. Ahsoka got out, the other soldiers, many wounded, staying inside as the Hammerhead took off.

-

**Two Days Later**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Ahsoka walked into the quite full briefing amphitheatre, and took her seat. The few remaining Commanders and Colonels, and a number of Captains and Lieutenants… almost every GDI officer was there in one way or another. Generals Granger, McNeil, Renteria, and Mitchell were all present, as was Rex. General Renteria walked up.

"Commanders, Colonels, Captains, Lieutenants." Renteria began, "As of 1200 hours today, Veinholes, long thought destroyed, have returned and began spilling out Tiberuim Life Forms. Worse, these new Veinholes seem to be equivalent to one of our EVA units crossed with an MCV. We've confirmed that the Genesis Pit has, somehow, gained enough intelligence to lead a campaign of terror to rival that of CABAL and is the center of these 'Tiberian Hordes'."

General Mitchell then stepped up, "As of now, the Firestorm Taskforce is recommissioned. Lieutenant Tano, step up please."

Ahsoka walked up, her heart pounding.

McNeil then chimed in, "Lieutenant, you're experience and natural abilities in Red Zones, as well as your… unique abilities, means that you're going to head up the Firestorm Task Force. The temporary rank of Captain is hereby bestowed to you, so you can lead said task force. Lieutenant Stevenson shall be assigned to work a ConYard for the Firestorm Taskforce."

Ahsoka nodded. "I would make one request then… an experienced officer to make sure I'm doing the right thing."

This got a murmur as well, but one that suggested the move was approved: Certainly battlefield promotions and temporary ranks were often used, but rarely had they, when it was a chance to prove themselves, asked for such aid.

"Very well." McNeil said, "As soon as she has recovered, Lieutenant Park will be attached to the taskforce, we will have Commander Locke oversee the task force personally from Battle Control, and send you your orders. The Taskforce will consist of Steel Talon walkers, ZOCOM Zone units, and some of the top GDI aces we have. The rest of our forces will focus on containing the Tiberian life forms world wide, as well as keep the peace. The Firestorm Task Force will be responsible for finding out what has happened to reawaken the Genesis Pit, and destroy it."

Renteria spoke up, "Now, I know that this may seem weird a Lieutenant is doing this, but beyond her unique qualifications, we need our higher ups to take over theatre operation duty, and our lower officers to get out there and deal with increased Nod activity. Assignments have been sent. Dismissed."

Everyone left, leaving Ahsoka, Rex, and the GDI Generals alone on the stage. Granger walked up.

"Look," he said, "This wasn't nepotism; we were dead serious about your unique qualifications. You're first job is going to be deploying near Blue Zone B-13. We got recon reporting that there are some sort of scouts for those Tiberian life forms there. The Firestorm Task Force may take a while to fully assemble, and it's one of the least defended Blue Zones at this point."

"Why?" Ahsoka asked.

Mitchell answered, "It took a pretty serious beating, in fact, and we've almost labeled a good chunk of the Zone as part of Yellow Zone Y-2, the African Yellow Zone, because of the damage Nod dealt. That'll be the primary battleground against the incoming Tiberian life forms. Stevenson's ConYard is going to take time to transfer from the warehouse here and to Morocco. For now, take an engineering team and a small force, and repair one of the border bases that were abandoned. It's a strategic installation on a hill, but it's a border station, so once you get the MCV, get the base back into proper working condition and expand it enough to serve as a staging area."

Ahsoka nodded. _In other words, get over there and do some light recon and make ready for the task force to move out in full._

-

**Author's Notes: Yes, I am quite well aware of the fact that the Genesis Pit was destroyed in the Firestorm Crisis and the taskforce decommissioned. In my defense, I liked the idea of Tiberium itself potentially being an enemy, and I toy around with them being a 'faction' with this. It's also groundwork that should become clear next chapter. If you wonder why a Lieutenant would get something that normally calls for a commander well… I explained it best I could. Besides, she's more the on-the-field officer, Locke is the one who does the 'overall', AKA, Battle Control, but honestly, he doesn't do much. In fact, he pretty much covers 'other operations' that go on while Ahsoka is busy in one sector of the conflict.**

**This and the next chapter should, at long last, bring an end to most of the shooting conflicts. That'll be… interesting, given C&C was, from the get-go, shooting. Expect delays as writer's block begins to cloud my mind because honestly, I suck at proper romance writing and politics, but once I get over the rut (likely in a somewhat shaky manner), I should be able to start steamrolling like the Steel Talons on Rail Guns.**

**Also, after the fanfic is over, I'm going to do a Epilogue chapter most likely, a shorter one, and perhaps afterwards 'appendix' or what not, maybe a brief write out of the 'Tech Tree' that the Black Hand 2.0 uses, just so you get an idea in future reference. That, and you probably noticed by now the Black Hand has been using stealth and aircraft whereas in the actual game they don't. In my defense, I felt the Black Hand needed serious revamping, and that Kane wouldn't let the 'rogue' Black Hand remain the same for too long once it passed usefulness, hence why I brought back Oxanna Kristos (for you Tiberian Sun vets, you'll remember her from the Nod campaign) to revamp the Black Hand into a much more dangerous threat.**

**Please leave reviews, they feed hungry Titians!**


	22. Chapter 22: Firestorm

_I dunno what the Black Hand is up to sir, but we tried to get past them, no luck. However, once that shipment, whatever it was, got past our range, they broke and retreated as we were pounding them hard. Can't make heads or tails of it, General, but we can't pursue it at this point, it disappeared entirely._

GDI soldier Ricardo Vega to General McNeil, after a battle on Sakhalin Island against the Black Hand.

**Chapter 22: Firestorm**

**Blue-Yellow Zone Border**

**Morocco, Africa**

**Blue Zone B-13, Borderline Yellow Zone Y-2**

"We're arriving, Captain." Lieutenant McCarthy said, cocking his GD-2 rifle as the transport began to descend.

"I'm still technically a Lieutenant; it's only a temporary promotion." Ahsoka replied.

"Maybe, but I got a distinct feeling that you might show yourself enough here that it'll net the promotion in proper."

Ahsoka shrugged, "We'll see. You engineers ready?"

A Steel Talons engineering team was assigned to her to get the base back into operation. Her team wasn't the greatest, but it would suffice. She had twenty five Riflemen, four Missile Troopers, a half dozen engineers, and two Wolverines for vehicular support. _Most of this is anti-infantry…_Ahsoka realized, _So we have to avoid a big fight… even if all the hordes are vulnerable to this stuff, Nod still has armor._

The Ox transports they were on landed and they all got off. The transports took off and headed to the main base. Ahsoka looked around. She could see the remains of the base on the cliff, and the path up was clear. A partially wrecked Tiberium Spike was lying nearby, some Tiberium slipping out of the seals, but most of it was still contained and being pumped away slowly to whatever silos it fed. Ahsoka sighed, _They must not of had a chance to repair it… once Stevenson gets here, or a ZOCOM construction team does, you can get that fixed up._

As they began to hike up the hill, they noticed how… quiet, the landscape was.

"Too quiet," Stevenson said as he casually put his rifle on his shoulder. "Doesn't feel right. At the very least I expected a Peacekeeper patrol."

"I suspect," Ahsoka answered, "That they aren't equipped for out here. Shotguns don't do much outside of closed quarter combat."

"Point, but they still hurt."

The hike was steep, but the road was wide, so they ran into few difficulties. When they reached the 'base', Ahsoka wasn't surprised to see how screwed it was. It truly was a decommissioned border station. An EMP Control Center, a pair of Guardian Cannons, a concrete fence, two Watchtowers covering the gate, parking space for Pitbulls, a extra-duty power plant, a command post, and a barracks.

"Cozy." Ahsoka commented as she looked at the decaying buildings. "Alright, let's get this back into operation."

The engineers went inside and began to get the place back into operation and trying to fix it up best they could. The rest of the soldiers secured the area and did a decent job at fortification. The two Wolverines patrolled the immediate area, making sure there were no surprises waiting. The EMP Control Center began to charge, and the defensive turrets activated again.

"Well, least it still works. Nod must of hit it pretty rough." McCarthy commented. "Wonder what happened to the on duty soldiers."

Ahsoka walked inside the Command Post and opened the log. "Actually," Ahsoka said as she read the latest logs, "It was shut down a few days before the beginning of the Third Tiberium War, apparently it was 'redundant' now that ZOCOM had the surrounding Yellow Zone under control."

"Well that's pretty dumb. How many credits did it spare the council?"

"Not much." Ahsoka answered, "In fact, I think that they only closed it down to funnel a tad more into ZOCOM to increase the reclamation… maybe they figured they could reopen it later once the stuff from the Reclamation went through…"

Suddenly, the radar beeped. "Ma'am," said an engineer who was working on it, "We got somethin' coming in… uh… visual in a moment…"

Feral looking mutants, armed with various weapons, were rushing forward. Several riflemen took pot shots, finding themselves out of range as the mutants charged.

"Great," Ahsoka muttered as she rushed outside, loading the Rail Carbine, "Just what we needed, bandits!"

She rushed to the wall and opened fire as several of the mutant bandits came into proper range. _Thank the Force we're on a hill,_Ahsoka thought, _There's enough of them to shred us alive in the field…_

The two Wolverines opened fire, shredding them. Tiberian Fiends, mixed amongst the ranks, came out to attack, but direct hits from the Guardian Cannons stopped them.

The raid ended with no GDI casualties, but two Riflemen were injured. They were pulled into the Barracks to recover while the field medic, a cross-trained engineer, tended the wounds with what he could get.

"Keep alert," Ahsoka said, "I doubt this is over yet."

-

**The Next Day**

Two more attacks had happened, with similar results as before. Ahsoka had six out of twenty riflemen injured, but she still had enough to keep the station held. Stevenson had arrived and deployed his MCV into a ConYard, and they had begun establishing a proper base at the clearing next to the station, which would be integrated into the base as an outer defense point. The day went on fairly slow, although the base was quickly assembled. Ahsoka's duties that day were mostly focused on organizing the Steel Talon walkers, ZOCOM Zone infantry, and the GDI infantry divisions and air support that had been assigned to the Firestorm Taskforce.

The Firestorm Taskforce was made up of about 200 GDI regular infantry, mostly Riflemen, sixty Zone Troopers, forty Zone Raiders, twenty four Titians, four Mammoth Tanks, thirty Wolverines, four Juggernauts, twenty Hammerheads, and two squadrons of Firehawks and Orcas. She also had, on-call, Ox transports to transport the task force via air if necessary.

At noon however, just after most GDI soldiers had eaten lunch, it came.

"**Red Alert,"** EVA warned, **"Tiberian Life Forms detected in massive amounts!"**

Ahsoka rushed to the perimeter, and sure enough, coming in large numbers from the east, a massive army of Tiberian life forms, ranging from Visceroids and Fiends all the way to mutated humans. Several Floaters were in the sky, slowly drifting forward. Several Juggernauts moved into position, and opened fire on the incoming hordes. The two dozen Titians moved up, taking strategic high ground and readying to pound them as they came up.

"Steady," Ahsoka said, "Let them come a little closer…"

The Tiberium Horde moved close enough… "FIRE!" Ahsoka shouted, and suddenly, bursts of light, sonic grenades, rockets, and bullets flew out at the hordes. Ahsoka opened fire with the Rail Carbine. The hordes surged forward, many dead lying in their wake as they charged. They got closer, but fortunately for GDI, the dead bodies rolled back down into their comrades, tripping them up and causing them to roll down too.

"It's like the Battle of Waterloo!" shouted one of the French GDI soldiers, like it was highly ironic. "They're collapsing because of our high ground!"

Finally however, the hordes did reach the top of the base. Ahsoka leapt out of the way as a Fiend nearly mauled her, she shot the Fiend in the rear, fatally, in retaliation. She whirled around, and another Fiend leapt onto her, pinning her to the ground. She kicked it up, knocking it back into the hordes, and yet another Fiend attacked her, like a rabid dog. She activated her Jump Jet as she kicked it up, launching herself into the air, backwards. As she came down, she grunted. The Titians were now literally stomping on anything in the way, while GDI soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Snipers, strategically positioned on various GDI buildings, kept shooting at the incoming hordes. Wolverines ripped apart the enemy by the dozen.

"You'd figure," Ahsoka shouted as she ducked a Fiend's spray of Tiberium shards, using the Force to hurl it and a group of its comrades far back, "that they'd bring anti-tank weapons!"

As if to answer her question, Visceroids began to slather a Wolverine with Liquid Tiberium, starting to decompose the metal. The Wolverine collapsed after two minutes of it, many Visceroids killed before it was destroyed. From the air, Hammerheads moved in, spraying bullets down upon the hordes. The battle was reaching stalemate, as Orca aircraft bombed the hordes still coming up the hill and Firehawks shooting down Floaters with Rattlesnake missiles before they could release their toxic Tiberium gas into the base. Tiberian Fiends attempted to shoot towards the airborne hostiles, but with little luck, though they did manage to clog an Orca's engine, forcing the pilot to pull out of the combat and land.

Ahsoka, grabbing a dead GDI soldier's GD-2 Rifle, opened fire on a Visceroid about to maul McCarthy.

"Thanks!" McCarthy shouted, grabbing his GD-2 and shooting another Visceroid.

"No problem," Ahsoka responded as she, with a Force push, sent a large group of Fiends flying away.

The battle continued, the Tiberian Hordes never ceasing. Finally however, after many casualties, the Firestorm Taskforce proved victorious in that battle. As the last attacker died, Ahsoka realized how bloody the battle had been. She looked around. _Almost a quarter of my men killed… this isn't going to be a normal GDI clean up operation… and this was when we had about every advantage…_

"Captain," one of the Zone Troopers said, walking up to her, blood and gore splattered all over his armor, "Commander Locke on the line."

"Thanks, Sergeant." Ahsoka said, glancing at his ID tag and rank insignia on his shoulder guards. Walking into the damaged Command Post, she activated the old transmitter.

"Commander Locke." Ahsoka said, saluting.

"Captain," Locke responded, a grim nod. "I saw what happened via SkySentry. I know you have more things to do, but I must know, are these hordes _that_ dangerous?"

"I haven't gotten a final total," Ahsoka said, "But I think a lot of the casualties were from our non Zone or armor division forces. But in essence, yes, I believe they _are_that dangerous. With respect," she swallowed, as the sheer realization of what she was up against hit her, "I would ask that this Taskforce be put under a General directly, these hordes are too dangerous for a Lieutenant that's a temporary Captain to be in charge of, regardless of the qualifications. I still intend to fight with the Taskforce, but after this, I honestly doubt that the original estimate is… accurate."

Locke nodded. "I share your concerns. However, all our other commanders are either occupied with cleaning Nod up, or responding to other, smaller Veinholes in other parts of the world."

Ahsoka nodded, swallowing again. _In other words, I might have to pull every trick I have to survive until GDI brass can focus on this beyond just the Taskforce…_

"Until further notice, I'm going to ask General Renteria put a ban on all travel into the African Red Zone. New orders will be sent to your EVA and I'll call in every spare soldier I can to help the Taskforce in this. However, your orders will be to head into the Yellow Zones and evacuate as many civilians as possible, prioritize areas in danger of falling to these hordes."

"I'll go as soon as I can, Commander." Ahsoka responded, nodding… fear beginning to clench her heart. _By the Force these things are worse than Mandos… we can mow them down by the company with anti-infantry weapons, but once they get close enough to maul us or hit us with their short range shards… and the numbers…_

She shoved those thoughts out of her mind, _The Scrin were worse, you can fight this._

"Very well. I'll speak with the General about getting the Taskforce some extra support." Locke said, "For now, engage with caution. Keep the bigger picture in mind when you go out to engage, and find out what works on these things the most. Have Lieutenant Stevenson deploy his ConYard around locations suitable for Refugee camps, I'll make sure they're guarded. Any questions?"

Ahsoka shook her head, "No sir, no questions here."

Locke nodded, and the transmission cut. Ahsoka put a hand on the transmitter as she realized how much responsibility was being shouldered on her. _I'm now responsible for evacuating half a continent, or protecting it from a powerful foe… This is going to stanging kill me if every battle is like that one…_

GDI casualties would be high, she knew it, especially if it was another horde-on-army battle, and definitely in an offensive. _Who knows how many people or animals have been mutated into that army… the numbers are going to be staggering…_

A soldier walked in, "Ma'am, I think you should see this…"

Ahsoka walked out, and was surprised to see a civilian convoy. Some of them jumped back when they saw her, others, with surprising reflexes, pulled out handguns and shot at her. Ahsoka was knocked back as the civilian side arms hit her armor, causing her to stagger back, but did not make it through. GDI soldiers quickly restored order, calming the surprised civilians.

"You mean GDI works with _demons_ like her?!"

"Sorry, sir, I guess I'm hyperalert these days…"

"Gah, Nod _was_ right about the… thing!"

"Easy, easy…"

Ahsoka gave a silent sigh; _I _really_am not the one for this… it was understandable before… but ever since the Scrin, people have been more and more hostile…_

She pondered a moment, realizing, _Human nature. If I didn't have such obvious non-human features, I'd of easily been able to blend in with time and cosmetics. But I don't… they're afraid… and fear leads to anger, anger to hate… hate to suffering…_

It dawned on her then how much of an anomaly she was, and that if it weren't for the fact she joined the Steel Talons, she might of in fact been killed years ago. _Probably going to happen anyways,_ she sadly realized, _eventually, someone will just get a head shot orhe armor won't catch it…_

She glanced at McCarthy, and said, "Could you talk to them for me, I don't think that I should, given my… differences."

McCarthy nodded, understanding. "Sure thing, Ma'am."

Ahsoka walked off to the side, keeping out of sight as much as she could, but as she moved around, she became more and more aware of how much people were staring at her. _I really hope that I don't have to do PR… that'd just be a nightmare, and not just for me, but GDI in general._

-

**Nightfall**

Ahsoka was lying in her bunk. She had decided that, for the sake of not alienating everyone and their mother, and with many of the civilians sleeping in a common ground set up near the barracks complex, she'd take the officer quarters that night… and probably as long as she was a GDI officer. _The Forgotten's offer is becoming more and more tempting every day…_Ahsoka admitted to herself as she rolled over, trying to fall asleep. _Even then though… I'm obviously not human, and I'm not human, but… GDI needs me, here and now, and probably when the next big incident happens…_

She gave up on sleep, finally, sitting on the side of the bunk, clasping her hands together. Her thoughts drifted towards how things were changing… ever since she had been taken to Earth by the Chonosphere, she had been getting worse, she felt.

She pondered her situation, and her options.

_Well, obviously I can get killed out there, too easy to happen, and let Tiberium erase what'd be left. Rex knows not to get big about it. Closed casket if there's anything left, cremation. Heck, it could even happen if I didn't plan on it too, so I shouldn't be surprised if I find something lodged in my heart in the next few days._ Somehow though, that felt… cowardly, especially letting it happen, _which might as well be suicide, just sugar coated_.

_I could, once this is over, join the Forgotten or carve my own path in the Red zones, live out my days… help GDI in the occasional fight… maybe do some good before I get taken down._

_Slugging this out though… less and less of an option… it's clear, once enough time passes, someone will just shoot me in the head out of the fact that I'm _not _human and with the Scrin's invasion, it's all to likely now someone will out of fear…_

Finally, the choices conflicting, she decided to try an old Jedi trick… meditate on it. It was, roughly, analogous to GDI's 'sleep on it', but Jedi got a bit more luck with it. She checked the lock on the door, reinforcing it. If someone needed her, they could use the buzzer, _it's was loud enough to knock Yoda out of meditation._

Crossing her legs, she shut her eyes, trying to calm herself. She felt herself drift away in what seemed to be endless time…

On the horizon, she felt something… but not today… but in the future… but how far, she could not tell… it was like… anger, vexation… revenge for unheard of defeat. _The Scrin… they'll be back…_

She then sensed something more immediate… but Ahsoka couldn't pin point it, she caught glimpses of the action in Sakhalin Island… and somehow, as GDI failed there… the future grew darker…

But there was hope… her thoughts drifted to Rex, and somehow, joy permeated… yet Ahsoka felt like it was… wrong, like something was going to happen to bring that down.

She then saw herself, in what looked to be… advanced GDI commando armor… her lightsaber hooked to her belt, a GDI rifle slung over her shoulders… Several other, similarly clad soldiers walked up, as if they were part of a unit. The vision began to become blurry, but as it blurred, she was able to see one thing clearly… a symbol…

The symbol was different than most GDI insignias, yet it felt eerily familiar somehow…

An eagle, flying upwards, head held back, almost like a spear tip. It's torso a GDI gold colored shield. Coming upwards from below the eagle was fire, like a laurel reef in shape and appearance. From below, blending into and with the eagle's tail, was an off-silver lightsaber hilt, and from behind, a silver bladed lightsaber shooting up, coming out from behind the eagle's head. The symbol gave hope, like a strong, resilient, heroic defense, and faded.

Ahsoka's eyes opened… she was puzzled, to say the least. _What does that mean… I don't recognize that symbol… yet, it feels like it should be familiar. And who were those men? And the uniforms… GDI's next line of armor?_

She shook her head, wondering why such was coming so naturally to her… _In the past, I would have been hard pressed to get a glimpse of what the next day's lunch was… now… It's like I can see things easily, like… a flood gate was opened recently…_

She glanced at the wall clock… one in the morning. Yet she didn't feel tired… in fact, she had more to think about then before. She got up, and quietly opened the door. Walking down the corridor, she became aware of wariness in the base… _Don't be surprised, everyone's on alert after that battle and with the civilians around, everyone's on alert._

She came into the main control station; a few officers were on duty. Ahsoka walked behind one of them, and glanced at the monitor.

"Can't sleep, Captain?" asked the sensor officer, a blond Norwegian man.

"Yeah." Ahsoka answered, glancing at the monitor. All was quiet beyond occasional activity in the base.

"Well, all's fine here. Just the usual soldiers on night patrol or someone going to take a leak."

Ahsoka nodded, then went to the tactical map, and began getting an idea of how things were going.

Tiberian Hordes had, surprisingly, been quiet… but it was only a matter of time until they began in full again.

-

**The Next Day**

Ahsoka activated her EVA unit, and read the messages left behind.

**Captain,**

**GDI Command orders you to take a force out and stop Tiberian Hordes assaulting food production centers in Yellow Zone Y-2. Destruction of said facilities will result in widespread famine throughout the Zone. Zone Trooper reinforcements will be at your disposal, as well as the Steel Talon Orbital Bombardment Cannon.**

Ahsoka then gathered a strike force. McCarthy and his infantry squads, twenty four Zone Troopers, sixteen Zone Raiders, the two Mammoth Tanks, four of the twelve Orcas, and the Wolverines. Loading up on Hammerheads and reinforced Ox transports, they headed out to the most in danger facility.

-

**Two Hours Later**

**Agriculture Facility A-15**

**Libya**

**Yellow Zone Y-2**

Ahsoka took the safety off her Rail Carbine. SkySentry had confirmed that a Tiberian Horde was inbound. Her Rail Carbine had a recent modification: A targeting laser. She was, by General Mitchell himself, authorized to call down the Steel Talon's Orbital Bombardment, and could use the laser to send targeting data. All she would have to do is keep the laser steady for five seconds. _Those slugs are going to be key… they can hit the hordes without fear of retaliation, and with ease._

The slugs were much more tactical then the Ion Cannon, causing much less damage to an area, but being a direct pain in the ass. The Talons had also recently renovated the system, every minute after firing, another would be ready to launch. This would allow it to be more tactically used and much more often then the Ion Cannon, which often took seven minutes to properly charge and get into geosynchronous orbit.

"Captain," McCarthy reported, "The locals are alerted, they're getting their militia together, but it's about as effective as a Nod militant force."

"Well, Nod technically _does_use Yellow-Zone militia groups," Ahsoka responded, "See if we can't spare some armor for them, at the very least chest and groin plates."

"Right. A scout reported that there's an old Second Tiberium War MCV somewhere around here, just south of the town. Sealed tight with key codes, but if we can get it online, I bet we could use it to get something."

"Have a Hammerhead fly down with an engineering team and escort. See how that goes."

"Copy that ma'am."

Ahsoka hung up, and a man, wearing what looked to be re-colored, salvaged Nod combat armor, walked up. "Captain…" he said slowly, toying the word.

"Yes?" Ahsoka asked patiently.

"We're curious on… how this came to be."

_So, they wonder who was responsible for this mess._

"We aren't sure ourselves, but all the evidence we've found indicates Nod." Ahsoka truthfully answered. "Part of why the Taskforce was reformed."

"Right… well, I hope you're able to deal with this. We aren't taking the brunt of it."

Ahsoka nodded, then her wrist EVA beeped. Incoming hostiles.

"Lock the place down, we got Fiends and Visceroids incoming!" Ahsoka shouted, cocking the Rail Carbine and heading out to the barricade. GDI Zone Troopers and Raiders were there, the regular infantry having set up Foxholes in a barricade to protect the place. The two Mammoth Tanks were in the middle, providing cover and offensive killing power. From the temporary landing zone set up near the food processing facility, the ZOCOM outfitted Orcas took off and made a run, delaying the hordes of Fiends and Visceroids.

"Steady…" Ahsoka said as the aimed the laser pointer at the middle of the group, "steady…"

"**Orbital Slug, fired."**

Suddenly, a massive metal slug shot down, blasting the center of the hordes and scattering dead Fiend and Visceroid over, causing them to trip over each other and get knocked down. GDI snipers opened fire, picking down the hordes. _No mutants… interesting._Ahsoka was wondering why a bunch of mutants had worked with them, she personally suspected that it was some sort of hive mind that was inserted at some point, but until they could find out for sure, they'd have to keep shooting.

A Tiberian Fiend leapt over the barricade and came down on Ahsoka. Instinctively, she kicked it in the chest, sending it back into its pack. A Visceroid then came in for the kill, attempting to maul her, but Ahsoka had grabbed her Rail Carbine and managed to shoot it as it came down. Landing on top of her, she pushed it off as another Fiend came in, pinning her down. A Zone Trooper shot it off of her.

"They're worse than a pack of hounds!" shouted a Zone Raider as she was mauled by a Visceroid, but her armor held. Ahsoka shot the offending Visceroid's legs, causing it to collapse, then the Raider kicked it off, sending it flying into its horde.

The barricades, barely, held, but the GDI infantry that weren't in Zone Armor were taking casualties. The Wolverines proved overly effective, ripping the incoming hordes with their armor piercing bullets. Ahsoka realized then, _This is just a raid… their main force hasn't engaged anyone yet…_

"**Unusually large Tiberian Life Form detected!"** EVA suddenly blared. _What?!_Ahsoka thought, surprised. She hurled a pair of Fiends, with the Force, out of the way, and saw it: Another one of the mammoths she had faced. What looked to be large dogs were being taken to it… suddenly, it planted its legs into the ground, shot down to ground level, and it's head opened into some form of mouth… the dogs were thrown inside, and within seconds, they came out… as Tiberian Fiends.

"Holy crap! That things'…" a Zone Trooper shouted, surprised as he saw it.

Ahsoka aimed the laser pointer, and seven seconds later, an orbital slug came down and blasted it. However, it failed to destroy the mammoth, but it damaged it. The next minute was a frantic battle for life as more Tiberian life forms rushed into the fray, Visceroids, Fiends, and now a recently arrived group of mutant marauders aligned with said hordes.

"Stand firm," Ahsoka said steadily, taking aim and mowing down a group of Visceroids incoming. The GDI defense was proving much more effective this time… _Just remember, this is a much smaller horde and you knew what they can do now, so you're better prepared._

GDI held, but it was clear they were on last legs. Ahsoka felt something white hot in her arm, but it didn't feel like a proper wound. _Probably just pulled my arm._She pulled her handgun and shot one of the Fiends with a couple lucky headshots while she tried to reload the Carbine one-handed.

"**Reinforcements en route."**

Suddenly, from orbit, a Zone Trooper drop pod came flying down behind the enemy lines, and a dozen Zone Troopers appeared out of it. They opened fire, bringing the deployed mammoth down with a scream. The hordes screamed in surprise, and began to fight more blindly, as if something had been cut from under them.

"They're coming in hard, looks like we woke them up!" Ahsoka shouted, shooting a Fiend in the eye before it spat its lethal shards at McCarthy, who then shot a Visceroid going for Ahsoka.

Finally, the last Fiend died to a head shot from a Zone Trooper. Ahsoka looked around, the GDI forces had taken plenty of wounds and a number of dead, but they had, for the most part, held.

The local Militia captain however, had worse news. "Almost half of my volunteers dead! Good men and women _dead_!"

Ahsoka looked at him directly and coolly. "Did the hordes manage to get into the homes?"

"No, those things didn't." the captain responded, "But I sure as hell hope GDI can actually protect people and not rely on local militias to do their dirty work."

Ahsoka sighed, and retorted, "You didn't _have_ to help, we came to protect your people, and while I won't speak for the rest of the soldiers, _I_ appreciate your aid."

The man harrumphed, and left. Ahsoka sighed again and tapped her wrist EVA. "Mission accomplished, A-15 secure."

"**Mission Success logged. Secondary Objective: Recover second Tiberium War era Mobile Construction Vehicle for retrofitting."**

"How's that MCV coming?" Ahsoka asked, opening a channel to the engineering team that had gone to check on the old MCV.

"Getting ready to get her rolling again, ma'am. Just give us twenty."

"You got time. Let's use it to set some defenses up for the locals. It's small enough to be carried by an Ox, right?"

"Indeed it is."

"Oh, good. I'll call an extra Ox to transport it out then. Should be much more movable then the current MCV."

She hung up, and looked towards the horizon before turning her attention back to the logistics of the aftermath. A green haze in the distance into the Red Zone was a daunting sight… a reminder of the hell that those in Yellow Zones lived in. _I can't even begin to imagine what it's like surviving here day in, day out. No wonder Nod was able to recruit so many people… It's a shame that Mitchell was right about the disenfranchised from Tiberium… but we have to roll with it and try to help._

A civilian man, a clerk by the looks of him, walked up, shaking.

"Something wrong?" Ahsoka asked, glancing up from her wrist EVA.

"The… city council wants to… discuss matters with GDI… and you're the ranking representative."

Ahsoka hesitated… she knew that, as a Captain, temporary rank or not, one of her duties was public relations… _Barring, of course, extreme circumstances… well, I'm not human and I'm not a mutant, though does that count as extreme?_

McCarthy was walking up, and gave a quick salute to Ahsoka in passing.

"Hey, McCarthy," Ahsoka asked, "Could you come here a minute?"

McCarthy walked up, and Ahsoka whispered to him, "Look, they want to talk to the ranking GDI representative; well…"

McCarthy nodded, understanding, and he whispered back, "No problem. If they ask, I'll say that you need to get cleaned up… actually, you should," he gestured to her arm, "You're injured."

Ahsoka, surprised, looked down, and sure enough, there was a shard of Tiberium stuck in her arm just below her shoulder, its jagged edge sticking out. _Funny,_Ahsoka noted as she examined it on the way to the medic's tent near the Food Processing Plant, _I didn't even notice it… it's like you just can't hurt me with Tiberium… or it's healing quickly…_

The medic was surprised positively when she mentioned it didn't hurt, to the point where he commented, "Did you get mutated with immunity to pain, or are you just flat out one of the toughest boots out there?"

"The latter." Ahsoka responded, "Then again, like most mutants, I heal in Tiberium radiation." _Actually, I just somehow adapted on the fly… I really wonder how I survived getting dropped in _Blue_Tiberium all of a sudden… genetics probably._

The medic nodded, and told her to sit down. She did, and he pulled out what looked to be tweezers with a sonic edge. With precision, he pulled the Tiberium crystal out and dumped it onto a tray, which he quickly sealed. As he pulled it out, Ahsoka felt some pain. It was clear that the crystal had penetrated a bit, but, fortunately, not much. She felt a sharp jab of pain as it came out, her face scrunching together, but the medic quickly injected something, took the pierced arm protection off, and wrapped her arm up with bandages.

"Should do the trick," the medic said, "'scuse me, I got to tend to the others."

Ahsoka nodded, and left. The Second Tiberium War MCV had arrived. Ox transports and Hammerheads were inbound to pick them up. They had done their job. The MCV quickly deployed and set up some additional protection for the town, several outdated, but still useful, Vulcan Chain Guns turrets.

-

**Three Days Later**

In the last three days, Ahsoka had lead skirmishes against Tiberian hordes targeting either civilians, or Food Processing Plants. Most civilians had been either evacuated from the most endangered area, or, for the more stubborn/those defending/manning the food production facilities, were reinforced with the retrofitted GDI 2nd Tiberium War MCV. Reinforcements had finally arrived, mostly Zone units from ZOCOM and Wolverines that Mitchell could spare. Now, Ahsoka was coordinating the various GDI units for a focused offensive, to try and break into the Genesis Pit, and determine how to destroy it once and for all.

General Renteria and Granger were on the line, appearing in front of Ahsoka as holograms and overlooking the tactical map with her.

"The hordes seem to be concentrating on protecting the northern entrance; they know that we're coming in. They're trying to create Ion Storms by releasing as much Tiberium based gas as possible, but it isn't going as well as they thought. Bloodhounds also confirmed that the Black Hand is fighting these hordes too." Ahsoka explained, "I think that our sudden hit disrupted the plan, or it was never intended on the part of the Tiberian Hordes to make such an alliance."

Granger nodded. "One more thing. How do you intend to destroy it if we confirm the Ion Cannon cannot work?"

"Then I'll try dropping C4 into the mouth of the Veinhole and see if we can't bomb it with sonics." Ahsoka answered.

The two Generals nodded, Granger said, "Report back when the offensive is done."

Ahsoka sighed as the transmission cut. _It's almost over… just another two days of slugging it out, then you can get some rest._

-

**The Next Day**

**ZOCOM Base**

**Red Zone R-2**

It was, at long last, time. The Firestorm Taskforce had, with difficulty, punched through the hordes lines, and had reclaimed the ZOCOM base that was abandoned, bringing it back online. With it, they were able to bring in extra ZOCOM units from Renteria and a dozen Behemoths from Mitchell.

"Captain," said one of the engineers, who ran up to catch her. "We got a new toy from WeaponsTech!"

"What is it?" Ahsoka asked, turning around.

"A modification for our tanks… sonic shell capability. We can outfit our tanks and walkers with them. This'll allow ZOCOM armor units to assist in reclamation… or blast large numbers of these Tiberian Hordes."

Ahsoka nodded, "Outfit the ZOCOM units with it then. We'll likely need old reliable Rail Gun, so outfit all the ZOCOM division tanks to retrofit. The others, stick to Rail Guns."

"Yes ma'am."

A Zone Raider was walking up… and Ahsoka felt, with relief, a familiar presence.

"Lieutenant Park." Ahsoka said, and the Raider saluted.

"I've been assigned to the Firestorm Taskforce," Park explained.

Ahsoka nodded, recalling that she had asked. "Good, we're going to do final outfitting for the ZOCOM tanks, then head out."

-

**Six Hours Later**

**Genesis Pit**

**Red Zone R-2**

It was time to end the crisis, once and for all, and destroy these hordes.

"On my mark… Fire!" Ahsoka shouted. The Behemoths and Juggernauts opened fire, shelling the hordes of Tiberian life forms that were rushing out of the pit. Orcas in the skies bombed the hordes with sonic shells; snipers picked them off one by one. Slingshots gunned down the Floaters, preventing them from mutating the GDI soldiers with Tiberium.

As the armies began to close, the Tiberian Hordes began to claim an advantage, ripping through the GDI infantry divisions, but taking casualties in the process. Visceroids mauled soldiers, smashing heads in, while Fiends bit necks out or impaled soldiers with Tiberium shards. Zone Troopers and Raiders proved effective, but focused shard fire brought them down too. The battle was stalling, GDI artillery keeping it just in GDI's favor.

The Mammoth tanks rolled up along pre-designated lines, followed by Predators and Titians. They rolled over hordes attempting to go for them, sonic shells and rail guns blasting them to bits. Wolverines joined in the infantry battle, turning the tide. GDI had mobilized in full, and now was rolling over them, but they were taking considerable casualties in the process.

Ahsoka joined the front charge; ripping apart hostiles with Rail Carbine rounds, leaving many dead (and dusted) bodies of Tiberian based life forms like a road behind her. GDI began to close on the mouth…

Suddenly, two of the mammoths came out, and looking to be on an offensive, they marched directly over the wreckage of a dozen APCs, crushing them effortlessly as they spat large shards out. The Mammoth Tanks however, opened fire, targeting the legs, as did the Behemoths and Juggernauts. The first one came down with a scream as its front legs were blown out from under it. Ahsoka leapt onto the top of a Mammoth Tank, and aimed at the other still standing mammoth. In seven seconds, a metal slug sped down and hit the mammoth, blowing a hole into its middle and causing it to stagger before it could march over a pair of Predators Tanks that were trying to back up. The two tanks however, did not live much longer, for the mammoth fell forward as its to legs were blown in half, and it landed atop of the backing up tanks, crushing them.

But the way was now getting clear. GDI's tanks advanced, opening fire with everything they had, infantry right behind them. They reached the pit itself. Ahsoka was shocked to see how many Tiberian life forms were within… _We need more… a _lot _more…_

"Lieutenant, or should I say, Captain." Came a familiar voice over the radio.

"Ghoststalker?" Ahsoka asked, surprised.

"Indeed. We are coming in from the south. Wait for our signal before attacking the Pit itself."

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the center, like someone had set off a Tiberium Vein Detonator.

"ATTACK!" Ghoststalker shouted.

"You heard him, let's go!" Ahsoka also shouted to the GDI units, the tanks rolled in. In the distance, Ahsoka could make out large numbers of Forgotten clashing with Visceroids, Fiends, and their feral mutant cousins. Floaters attempted to fly towards both groups, but the support of GDI Slingshots and the Forgotten's salvaged quad-cannons proved to be more than a match for them.

The hordes, sandwiched between two powerful groups, realized they were doomed, but fought tooth and nail for their survival. As they got close to the Veinhole, the center of the Genesis Pit, the tank divisions held back. The rest of the battle would be grunt work, as the tentacles of the Veinhole were quickly capable of demolishing vehicles. As Ahsoka shot her way past dozens of Fiends and Visceroids, the Veinhole began to get agitated, large amounts of toxic Tiberium gas pouring out.

"Alright, non GDI Zone units, get clear, there's too much gas and your field suits aren't quite capable of coping." Ahsoka said, "Ghoststalker, I presume your people can breathe that stuff?"

"They can."

"Good, let's punch a hole and see if we can't drop some C4 into the mouth."

_You don't want to do that!_ A powerful presence suddenly said, forcing itself on her mind. _Oh, I do want to do it._Ahsoka responded, shooting a pair of Visceroids making a play. Suddenly, she was forced prone by another powerful mental lance. Zone Troopers also were collapsing, Fiends beginning to abuse that. The Forgotten, seeming immune, took up the charge and rushed to defend their GDI allies.

It became quickly clear what GDI was facing… the Veinhole of the Genesis Pit… was like a super-powerful EVA unit… and had physic capabilities.

_I will not bow before you…_Ahsoka thought as she struggled to resist. She centered herself, focusing… absorbing some of the nearby Tiberium crystals for a burst of power, she blasted past the mental lance and rushed forward, her Rail Carbine falling out of her hands as she went for C4. Suddenly however, another tentacle came out of the Veinhole's mouth, and it sprayed a massive hosing of Liquid Tiberium, several Visceroids also added to the sludge, forcing Ahsoka down by it's kinetic force. She felt it run down her body as it tried to pin her down, but it couldn't kill her… but it would leave her vulnerable to something else doing it…

A Fiend walked up, wounded, and snarled at her, barring its teeth. Suddenly, a burst of light went through it, vaporizing it. Ghoststalker had shot it, and, reloading, shot the tentacle spraying Liquid Tiberium onto Ahsoka. This gave her a respite, enough to use the Force to hurl a pair of the Visceroids into the Veinhole. Ghoststalker then rushed up and dropped several C4 charges into the Veinhole, and rushed clear. GDI and Forgotten alike retreated, Ahsoka right behind them, the Tiberium deluge sticking to her body.

Suddenly, Ahsoka and the GDI soldiers collapsed as if something had died, a powerful scream of agony blasting in her mind like an orchestra at full crescendo.

Finally, it passed… Ahsoka panted as she turned around: Ghoststalker's C4 had destroyed the mouth, and the Veinhole was dying, the tentacles steadily mummifying and retracting. She looked at him as he walked away… almost… disappointed.

"Are you alright?" he asked, offering a hand.

"Yes, I am." Ahsoka said, taking it. "That was… impressive."

"Indeed." Ghoststalker responded, glancing at the liquid Tiberium coming off of her… "You… may want to get into privacy before it all comes off…"

Ahsoka put a hand to her chest, and felt a surge of heat as she realized what he meant… in the distance, she heard McCarthy snickering, barely audible from under his helmet…

-

-

-

**Two days later…**

**General Mitchell's office**

**The Pentagon**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Mitchell read the report, positively impressed at the numbers estimated for hostile casualties and the surprisingly low GDI casualties in comparison. The GDI casualties, both wounds and deaths, had totaled for three fifths the total taskforce, which was almost an extra quarter the size of the original task force. _I suppose we knew we'd have heavy casualties… but to think that we took that many losses…_

He was a hard man to upset with casualty figures. He had personally lost several battles and lost a lot of friends, especially to the 'accident' at GDI's Liquid Tiberium facility in Australia in 2034. But the numbers were surprising… _but it wasn't pyrrhic at all. We're practically driving three Tiberium species into extinction, and have already destroyed a CABAL look-alike… Certainly, it'll take a while to get this all back under control, but at the moment, it's looking like we're on clean up again._

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," Mitchell said, minimizing the report on his computer screen. Ahsoka walked in, holding what looked to be a document. "Something the matter, Lieutenant?" Ahsoka had, with the Taskforce done, returned to her original rank, but he had intents of getting her a promotion for handling it as well as she did, especially considering the fact that she was on the front line of every fight she could be on, something respected widely in GDI.

"It depends on your definition of 'the matter'," Ahsoka said, surprisingly glum. That got Mitchell's attention, she was rarely down, in fact, she often was the life of the party, as the saying went.

"Well," Mitchell said, stalling for time, "What is it?"

Ahsoka slid the form onto the desk. The moment Mitchell saw the first couple words; he knew exactly what it was. _It's a request _not _to get promoted, a denial-before-it-happens… there's more to it than this though…_

"Surprising document, Lieutenant." Mitchell said, "What's wrong?"

"Well," Ahsoka said finally, "It's the fact that _I'm not human_, **at all**. Ever since the Scrin invaded, I've been dogged by those who see my obvious _lack_of Tiberium mutation signs, in fact, people, civilians, have tried to _kill me on sight_, pulling out guns the moment they saw me. I've been half tempted to hand in my_ resignation_to avoid GDI having to deal with the liability I'm becoming."

"Whoa, whoa!" Mitchell said, putting his hands out, surprised. "You're basically telling me you want me to keep you where you are _by virtue of the fact you think that you're a __**liability **_to GDI now?"

That snapped Ahsoka's attention to him. "Look," Mitchell continued, "I can see where you're going with this. However… the Talons could use you again, your piloting skill with a Titian is hard to match, but Renteria has expressed interest in having you reassign to ZOCOM, if you want. It might be better off for you, given that the soldiers there in Red Zones aren't slouches and are more open minded, and tend to respect skill and ability over looks." _Hell, some of my Commanders have called Ahsoka an 'exotic beauty'…_

Ahsoka nodded. "Still," she said, "I feel… lost now. Like, I don't belong. You know how I came here… I'm literally a… a… a _freak case_, at best, at worst, an infiltrator for some conquering civilization out there."

Mitchell rubbed his chin. He was never able to snap Ahsoka to attention like Rex was, but Rex was busy… _Gah, one of the few times I'm sorry he's hit with the arrow of love… I really need Rex here to get her away from this line of thought…_

"Tell you what," Mitchell said, "I'll have them postpone offering you the official promotion. If you want to leave GDI, talk to me and we can get the forms filled out. We'd miss you for sure, but it's your choice. You have rights, even if you aren't human." He knew it was actually a tad thin, if it was revealed what she really was, her legal status would be no better than one of the Scrin's soldiers because she wasn't human and never was.

Ahsoka nodded, "Look, if I do happen to… die, and my body is recovered…"

"Cremate it," Mitchell said, nodding, "I'm aware of… tradition." _I never understood that 'one with the Force' stuff… Regional thing probably, sorta like Heaven and Hell for us._

"Scatter the ashes." Ahsoka added, "I just want to fade away, if they do recall me, I'd rather it be by name only, just another GDI commando."

Mitchell nodded gravely. In his mind, he was worried. _That's a fatalistic streak alright… I've seen too many people get into such a streak and they usually wound up dying shortly after without… purpose. Unfortunately… there might not be one at this point… Nod's on the run, and while I doubt they're gone for good, it isn't enough to give someone a purpose to keep them alive…_

"Out of curiosity," Ahsoka asked, pulling someone up on her wrist EVA, "You ever see this insignia before?"

Mitchell looked at it, frowning. What he saw was an eagle, flying upwards, head held back, almost like a spear tip. It's torso a GDI gold colored shield. Coming upwards from below the eagle was fire, like a laurel reef in shape and appearance. From below, blending into and with the eagle's tail, was an off-silver lightsaber hilt, and from behind, a silver bladed lightsaber shooting up, coming out from behind the eagle's head.

"Looks to me like a heavily modified variation of the United States military insignia, circa… 2020, one of its last symbols before nations really ceased to exist, but the actual symbol had a half blue half shield behind the eagle, which was much more streamlined, and instead of a silver bladed lightsaber, a black sword. Where'd you find this?"

"Saw it," Ahsoka said, "Somehow, it felt like I should recognize it."

Mitchell nodded, wondering. _Huh, is this a future GDI insignia? Another major division coming up? I wonder if it won't become ZOCOM's after Reclamation is over… an eagle transforming into a phoenix sure fits a world being reborn, but afterwards… I'm almost sure that that symbol is a phoenix; the fire sure gives it away… I'll have to wait._

"Well," Mitchell finally said, "Keep it on hand, if any new up-and-coming GDI division pops out and needs a distinct symbol, they might be willing to adopt it. Looks like something that'd strike the fear of God into something… maybe the Scrin."

-

**Author's Notes: Thusly, the Firestorm is over once more. To tell truth, it's groundwork for a future plot, but it's good groundwork and sets up the fact that there is more to Tiberium then EA has let happen with their changes. Consider this me saying "Suck it, slaves to the system!" (CABAL pun intended)**

**To the keen eyed, you might of noticed that those Tiberian Mammoths were not unlike the Crawlers of C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight… coincidence, or an evil plot on part of the author? You might think Crawlers have no place in C&C, but you can't deny it, it's a good concept. Personally, I'd be glad with one player having a standard C&C base while others use Crawlers, per team, but hey, always the expansion :)**

**The next chapter shall mark the end to the near-straight fighting for 22 freaking chapters… until the final chapter. This is Command and Conquer, not Command and Kissing (except for romance scenes)**

**Also, I have confirmed how many chapters there will be, 24 'main' chapters, and a prolouge chapter (posted the same day) to the planned-on sequel to Cloned Tiberium (working name as of 2/19/2010 'Cloned Tiberium: Tiberian Dusk')**

**Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight comes on March 16th, if you haven't seen the Ascension trailer, SEE IT, it lays down the _epic_, so even if the gameplay sucks, the plot doesn't look like it's going to. Link: www(dot)commandandconquer(dot)com **

**Replace the (dot) with a period . After that, it should be, as of the posting of this chapter, be the first thing you see. If not, head into news and look for the picture of Threshold 19 being activated.**


	23. Chapter 23: Jank

_Councilors… I have some very bad news. Kane's detonation of the Liquid Tiberium Bomb at Sarajevo has mutated Tiberium... evolved it. By 2068… humanity will cease to exist as we know it, unless we can stop Tiberium outbreak. So far, we've only seen a growth increase that's pushing ZOCOM to the limit… but we can't tell how much more it'll change. Director Rex… we estimate that if you _had_ used that Liquid T bomb that Boyle ordered you to use… that he forced me to build… not only would 25 million of been blown to hell by the chain reaction… but the entire planet would probably be a yellow zone _at best_. At worst… one giant Red Zone with small pockets of survivors._

Sydney Mobius to the GDI Council, after a study in Sarajevo.

**Chapter 23: Jank**

**GDI Admin Building**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Rex glanced out the viewport of the APC he was riding. Since Ahsoka had returned, and the Firestorm Taskforce returned to decommissioned status, its soldiers returned to the divisions they were drawn from, it seemed like peace would come… the word of what was being called the Second Firestorm Crisis proved to be a much-needed boost for GDI, the victory proving yet again that GDI could protect the world. Recruitment was going up, and things were stabilizing as GDI teams cleaned up the last of the Tiberian Hordes, as the armies of Visceroids, Fiends, Floaters, and Mammoths had been dubbed by GDI for lack of a better term.

But things gnawed on him. The Black Hand had disappeared almost entirely, leaving almost all of Nod's militias to be destroyed by the Steel Talons in what some were calling 'the Steel Talons' last glory'. ZOCOM reported that the Tacitus was being translated steadily, and that barring another crisis, they should be able to contain Tiberium at the source by 2066. In other words, the only access to Tiberium would be Tiberium Spikes, preventing any, barring a new vein of it, from getting loose. Rex hoped the approach worked, especially if Sydney Mobius' dire prediction was true. While ZOCOM was in the Red Zones, GDI's mainline was focusing on securing the Yellow Zones and restoring order and rebuilding them, providing ZOCOM with a deadly necessary buffer. If another crisis happened, GDI might not be able to deal with it _and_ save the planet… had the Second Firestorm Crisis not happened; GDI would have had Tiberium contained at 2062.

Making matters worse, Nod had enough fight left to maintain terrorist attacks, but to a lesser degree then before, and they were steadily dropping from GDI Rapid Response actually becoming Rapid Response under a new GDI division headed by General McNeil, RAID, or Rapid Assault and Intercept Deployment, which promised to, theoretically, prevent anything like a veinhole coming back up without quick, capable response that would smother it in bullets, rockets, and Rail Guns.

The November elections had preceded apace, a series of competent Councilors chosen and many news stations, political talk shows, and more were bright about the future. If Rex had any disappointments in the events, it was that he was seeing signs of GDI returning to status quo in the Council. Rex maintained his position that term, by a landslide and even popular (public) vote because of how quickly and effectively the Second Firestorm Crisis had been handled. No new orbital station was to be built to replace the _Philadelphia, _at least, not until GDI could secure their A-SAT defenses and have them in orbit and on the ground, to ensure that if one is compromised, the other is still present. That would take time, as GDI had much to rebuild on the ground first before it could look back towards space.

"Something wrong, director?" asked the driver.

"No, nothing." Rex said, "Just thinking."

"I know. Hard to believe how much has happened in the last few months…"

"Well, as long as Tiberium keeps getting refined at the rate it is, reconstruction shouldn't be too costly, if that's what's worrying you."

"Hope not. But still, there's always a bit of a cost to actually refine the stuff."

"True, but I thought the whole point of Tiberium being so important was that it was so easy to refine once harvested… barring the obvious hazards."

"Yeah. 'Course, once we finish reconstruction, we got another problem: What to do with the rest of the Tib we're getting from the Spikes and the ZOCOM ops."

"Sure the eggheads would love GDI to start pushing towards space," Rex said, "Of course, we aren't likely to focus on that until the whole planet is one giant Blue Zone."

Rex, personally, would of liked GDI to be prepared. A hot discussion was the funding of another GDI division specialized as anti-Scrin to prevent future invasions… or, more likely, become harder, faster response to it. RAID seemed to fill that role, but Rex noted that they still relied on, although certainly more advanced, tired-but-true technology. _GDI needs more space capabilities, if the Scrin come back and secure orbit, they can bombard us from above and there'd be nothing we can do about it. GDI Stratosphere Command is a step in the right direction, but if they're going to last a minute against the Scrin, they need Firehawks or Orcas that can not only get into space, but fight effectively. They need star fighters. What's worse, the technology to allow such isn't invented yet… here._

The APC came to a halt as it reached the Pentagon's security gate. The driver showed his ID, and they were allowed to pass. The APC came to a halt again, and the door opened. "Have a good afternoon, Director." The driver said.

"Thanks for the lift." Rex responded. The driver nodded, and drove off.

He went inside and to his room, and got cleaned up. Putting on a fairly nice suit, he looked in the mirror. It wasn't quite tuxedo, but it was a very nice, _civilian_ shirt, fit for wearing at a more fanciful restaurant. Sarah had been cleared to go alone, and before she went back to Reclamation, they intended to go on a date. _Hope we don't get jumped again… the last time was a real pain._

Rex adjusted the collar, loosening it a bit. Satisfied with his appearance and putting his two pistols in his pockets, safeties on and concealed, he walked out the door. Again, Sarah was waiting for him outside, but this time in a stunning dress. Rex smiled as he saw the purse and a small gunmetal grey object sticking out of a concealed pocket in the dress. _Good, she brought a pistol this time. Hopefully we won't need it._

"Ready?" Sarah asked, holding her hand out. Rex smiled, holding it and gently kissing her ring finger. The two then chuckled at how silly such seemed at the time.

"How are you these days?" Rex asked as they walked down the street to _Peppy le Pew's_, the French restaurant that Mitchell had suggested a fortnight ago.

"Fine, just fine." She responded, sighing. "I honestly don't get it. They, Nod that is, can pull a jump and kidnap me when it suits them, but when the real crisis starts, they fade away into obscurity and we can't find them. Doesn't that seem… wrong?"

Rex nodded, "It is quite wrong, though for perhaps different reasons, such as them trying to _feed you to some monster_."

Sarah gave him a look at said, quite flatly, "I don't like the damsel in distress. Sends the wrong message."

Rex felt his face heat up… then said, "I wasn't implying you _needed_ rescuing, I mean, I heard you gave the Black Hand hell before they…" He stopped as she began to laugh. "What?"

"It's you… how you try to avoid the traditional stereotypes with explanations."

Rex's face worked as he tried to make heads and tails of that.

Sarah shrugged, seeing him confused, then changed the tune, "So how's Ahsoka doing? Heard she got… embarrassed."

Rex chuckled as he recalled how Mitchell had described her… loss of uniform. _Heh, she only just got into the armory according to how Ghoststalker put it._ "She's fine, think she got embarrassed that it happened in front of a good chunk of GDI, but otherwise, she's doing fine… though she's been a bit… down lately."

Sarah glanced around, then said, "Didn't hear this from me, but something tells me she's starting to feel lonely. She's… unique on this world, cut off from those… like her." Sarah was choosing her words carefully now, and Rex knew why. "You can do that for a while, but it wears you down fast when you don't see a close friend, or rather, friends, often. You're the big boss now so you can't spend as much time with her, and well, no offense, but Mitchell isn't exactly the best company."

Rex thought back to the pin up he saw in Mitchell's office… _Poor girl,_ Rex realized, _She's all alone… truly… not even someone of her own species to talk to… or even know of. I thought being a clone was tough… but that… just boggles my mind._

"Look," Sarah continued, interrupting, "General Renteria says she'll be in DC for a while before being transferred back to the Talons. R&R and the like after the intensity of the Crisis. Why don't you talk to her at some point while you can?"

Rex nodded, and they finally arrived. Rex opened the door, and the two walked into a well kept restaurant.

"Yes?" asked a French waiter inside, manning a counter.

"We have a reservation," Sarah said, "Granger."

"Ah, right this way." The waiter said, leading them to a quaint, discrete corner. Rex, out of habit, glanced around, marking windows, vantage points for snipers, every conceivable way that someone could pick him off. _Damn Kaminoans, they had to make everything military for us. I don't want to think about snipers and all the ways you can get your head blown off when I'm trying to spend my night with the woman I love…_

They took their seat in the corner and Rex glanced at the menu. The usual stuff for a French restaurant, though the steak got his attention.

"So," Sarah asked, "what are you going to get?"

Rex flipped through the menu, "I was personally thinking of the steak. I dunno, I've never been one for really fancy stuff."

"Know what you mean," Sarah responded, "Lot of stuff here is a bit of an acquired taste."

The waiter came by and took their orders, and left shortly after. Rex noticed that there was only one way in, as they have themselves in a corner, and there was at least a foot between them and the next table. _Pretty good place for privacy, beyond the obvious such as _it's a restaurant _and _seats right next door. _Otherwise, not bad, a corner and it blocks a lot of views._ Rex decided.

They began to talk on many subjects as dinner was served. To any observer, it was clear there was romance, even if the words were inaudible to them.

As they left, Sarah paused.

"Something wrong?" Rex asked.

"No," Sarah said, "Nothing."

They left, and began walking back to the Pentagon, where Rex had to sleep those days due to being GDI's leader. They reached the place, but before they parted… they kissed. It was a wordless kiss, which naturally happened, slowly, and with precision.

-

-

**The Next Day**

Ahsoka glanced up as Rex walked into her room in the Steel Talon's Washington Headquarters, which they maintained mostly due to regulations.

"Rex?" Ahsoka asked, surprised. She thought he had paperwork by the truckload that day…

"Hey," Rex said, "Mind if I come in?"

"Sure," Ahsoka responded, sitting up.

"Look, Mitchell told me that things have been, tough. I wanted to know how you were feeling."

"Fine," Ahsoka answered, "Just fine." _What is he getting at? Sure, I'm a little down, but honestly, I'm just in a tightening spot…_

Rex wasn't fooled, "Look, lil'un, Mitchell told me that you were getting concerned with how people were going to react about your… unique appearance. I've checked for solutions, but the only ones I've found are what you already know. I want to know what you're thinking, how you're feeling, see if I can't help."

"Rex," Ahsoka answered, "I'm thinking of sticking with what I've been doing and take what comes. Steel Talons need me, and I can always transfer to ZOCOM if they need me there. Not really much you can do."

"That may be, but I don't see why you have to be so dour about it. What happened to the brave young woman who fought through fights that would make grown men piss their pants with complete confidence and witty banter?"

Ahsoka looked at him, surprised… at how right he was sounding. _Come on, admit it, you said it yourself; you're waiting for death to take you. _

"I dunno, honestly," Ahsoka answered, "Maybe it's the fact that the same people I'm trying to protect treat me like an alien invader or some freak, and have even _tried to kill me_ the moment they _saw_ me."

Rex frowned, but nodded. "Look, take a few days off. Go on leave somewhere and relax. The Talons are heading back to the Hammerfest base to resume experimentation with the walkers. Why don't you head up there and join them after a few days off, or even go now and school some of the kids who're joining the Talons?"

Ahsoka stirred. _In other words, get off the front lines for a while and stick with some of your friends…_

"Alright," she answered, "I'll get packed then. I presume I shoot the files to my CO… actually, who _is_ my CO now?"

Rex paused, he had been, technically, her commanding officer since she became a Commando, but with him officially a civilian, albeit a high ranking one, that didn't work out so much. "Yes… that is a good point. Mitchell is considering reassigning you to his strike force directly, given circumstances. Well, you'll probably find out once you get to Hammerfest, but given you're the _only_ Steel Talon commando at this point, he probably will bring you under his wing personally."

Rex got up, and leaned on the door a moment.

"So, how's politics?" Ahsoka asked, changing the subject.

Rex gave her a grim smile, "A lot better, actually, now that I've gotten rid of Boyle's political appointees. Still hell though, I swear that at least one of them wants my job for no other reason then to say he had it."

"Well, that's politics for you. So how long you intend to stick to it?"

"Until I'm confident that GDI would be in good hands."

Ahsoka nodded, agreeing. Politics weren't either of their things, but Rex was competent with them.

-

**Three Days Later**

**Steel Talons Main Base**

**Hammerfest, Norway**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Ahsoka walked off the Ox transport. She had done some research the last few days, mostly on the Black Hand. She knew she'd have to find Oxanna and get her lightsaber back, before it was too late. But until the Black Hand appeared again, she'd have to be patient. Going out and hunting them was not going to work because there was a lot of planet to cover.

Tex, one of the Talon's top Titian jockeys from DC, was testing out one of the modified Titians, which was promising an increase in speed. Ahsoka also noted several aircraft landed in a hanger… and they looked familiar. One of them was rolled out, and she knew what it was: Mitchell was going for something capable of transporting Titians, and borrowed the basic concept of the Grand Army of the Republic's LAAT/i gunships. It looked modified, replacing a normal drive engine with GDI's Orca technology, using a number of turbofans in the wings to give it support, but did carry what looked to be a pair of back-up engines.

"Lieutenant," one of the Talon's Wolverine pilots said, walking up, "the General mentioned you were coming."

"Good to see you again," Ahsoka responded to him, nodding, "They clean your suit out yet?"

The pilot blushed a deep shade of red as he recalled the incident. "I'm never living that down, am I?"

"Probably not," Ahsoka responded with a grin as she recalled how she had scared him, literally, _shit_less during a training fight. "So what's with the gunships?"

"Those? The R&D boys call 'em _Harriers_. They're pretty nice, actually. They can ship a Titian to the ground fast and dodge AA fire, unlike the V-36 Ox or its predecessor, the V-35 Ox, which can't carry Titians."

"Nice," Ahsoka commented, looking at the Harrier. It looked much like a Republic Gunship, except, to Ahsoka's surprise, the floor where soldiers would usually stand retracted, and a Titian marched below it, sat down, and it was then latched on by what Ahsoka suspected to be industrial sized magnets, and supported with cables that shot across from the inside. The gun hugged the side of the Harrier, also locking onto it. The Harrier took off, and flew towards the training field. Ahsoka got an idea at the retractable floor…

"You know, this might be a pretty good insertion craft for Zone Troopers." Ahsoka commented, "Retract the floor, drop down, and use jump jets to stop themselves from getting it lethal."

"When Renteria lets us use Zone infantry, then we can probably try that."

-

**Five Hours Later**

Ahsoka checked her Titian's systems. All gold.

"Titian is Live," Ahsoka registered, activating the Titian properly. It got up off of its legs and began to move. The model was using borrowed sonic shells from ZOCOM, to test to see if it could be used on Titians. Mitchell's briefing on it was, quite simply, "If the aliens come back, the Talons need to be able to deal with them much better than before. I know Rail Guns are superior in one on one, but sonics did a helluva number on their infantry swarms. This is limited loan, and we're supposed to develop it so it can be more widely used by GDI in general."

"**Begin Testing."** EVA reported, snapping her out of her thoughts. Ahsoka marched the Titian forward, crossing the unstable terrain of large rocks. The Titian's legs proved to be capable of maneuvering around it.

She came up to the first set of targets, ten Nod militant combat dummies. She aimed at the middle and fired. Direct hit and the dummies went flying as the sonic waves blew them down. Ahsoka knew that if it was a real battle, their ears would have been blown out. Her next target was a salvaged and repaired Scorpion Tank. She opened fire. Damaged it, fired again, bringing it close to destruction, and with her last shot, it exploded.

"Getting this EVA?" Ahsoka asked.

"**Recording the entire thing, Ma'am."**

"Good. Let's see…"

The next dummy… was an oversized and disproportional gel-cast statue of Kane, mocking one of his statues seen in Nod bases. Ahsoka grinned, and aimed at the crotch, and fired. The sonic wave from the detonation passed through the gel-cast, and as passed, it caused it to fall apart. Ahsoka winced, not having a hard time imagining what it'd be like to have that happen to her.

"Alright, test complete." Ahsoka said, "Data looks good, the sonic shells sure are handy against hordes, but the recoil puts a strain on the stabilizer- wait a minute, I'm picking something up…"

A pair of Nod attack bikes suddenly sped in, firing missiles. They slammed into the side of the Titian, causing it to stagger as the Gyro-Stabilizer attempted to stabilize the Titian. Ahsoka aimed ahead of the first one and fired, blasting the bike to smithereens. The other one turned around and attempted to flee, but Ahsoka hit him with another shot, aiming ahead and the biker drove right into it.

"Lieutenant, what was that?" asked one of the sensor officers.

"Pair of Nod attack bikes." Ahsoka answered. "Got 'em both."

"Good shooting. Alright, take it back to base."

-

**The Next Morning, crack of dawn.**

As Ahsoka woke up, she glanced at her wrist EVA, which was sitting next to her pillow. Pulling it on, she noticed someone had left a message… official orders.

**Lieutenant,**

** InOps has located a small Black Hand shrine nearby. It is suspected that it is a lookout post to observe Steel Talon activity. General Mitchell orders you to destroy it. Coordinates are November-Delta-Twelve.**

Ahsoka nodded as she quietly slipped out of the bunk and slipped her armor on. As she reached the gate, the guard simply nodded, as if he had been informed.

Heading north, towards where the secret location was, she stalked through the woods, avoiding the main road. An hour later, she found it. It was a small complex, looked like it was a concealed lookout post for sure. Ahsoka crept closer, spotting several Black Hand Disciples standing guard, two of them using binoculars to spy on the Steel Talons.

"Ugh, why couldn't the Talons have their main base somewhere warmer? I can feel the cold through the heat of my flame tanks…" one of them muttered.

Ahsoka pulled out her Rail Carbine and took aim, and shot him in the chest, bringing him down. She leapt down and shot another, then another. The surprised Disciples went down quickly.

"What's all the- oh boy…" said a Confessor as he came out, and got shot in the head as he reached for a silver tube on his belt. Ahsoka walked up, and kicked the body over… he had her lightsaber!

"What the heck is he doing with my lightsaber?" Ahsoka asked herself as she picked it up, examining it… she felt like… there was something familiar about it, moreso then before… She ignited the blade, and it burst to life with a Tiberium-green color. Ahsoka took a swing, cutting one of the poles the Black Hand had set up outside their shrine, the lightsaber cut through with effortlessness.

Ahsoka turned it off, and pulled it open. Inside was the same crystal as before… but the power cell was replaced… with an orange Tiberium crystal. Her eyes widened. _Someone put that crystal there… and practically left it to be recovered by me…_ She didn't understand it, but something told her that it fit into someone's grand plan…

But, she was relieved, because it likely meant that, unless lost again, no one would use it to hurt the innocent, and it was out of the wrong hands. _But was it replicated… that I do not know…_

She entered the shrine itself… it had the usual Nod icons, but the computer was recently stripped clean of its hard drive, no data left whatsoever. _Probably got transferred… well, best blow the place up. _ Setting a few C4 charges strategically, she left the small listening post and blew it up from afar. _Mission accomplished._ Ahsoka thought as she turned back.

-

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

Rex nodded as Sarah walked up to him. She was heading back into the Red Zones for a tour of duty.

"Good luck," Rex said.

"Thanks," Sarah responded, "I'll be fine. See you in a month."

"I can hardly wait."

She then left, to where Rex knew was the GDI airbase. She had the personal items she was going to bring all packed up in a bag, and her armor was already loaded onto the transport; she'd slip her armor on during the ride.

Rex sighed, _I hope that these constant tours of duty don't strain our relationship… some serious irony here; usually it's the man in the relationship who heads off to war… I wonder if Boyle is laughing at me now…_

Rex shook his head, and walked down the street back towards the Pentagon, politics ahead of him once more, but for once, it was looking better than before.

-

**Peter & Paul Fortress**

**St. Petersburg (AKA Leningrad)**

**Yellow Zone Y-1**

Ahsoka walked cautiously along the now Tiberium-infested Volga River, the river was dried up from the Tiberium, a GDI dam long down the river keeping the oceans from flowing into it and being reduced to nothing.

She reached the Peter and Paul Fortress itself, the new de-facto Forgotten Headquarters after the previous one had been destroyed by the Tiberian Hordes, after Nod had also hit it hard. A Forgotten guard shouted, and several, heavily armed soldiers came out of the gates.

"Easy," Ahsoka said, holding her hands up, "I know it sounds cheesy, but I come in peace."

The mutants nodded, one of them jabbering something in Russian. A guard went in, and came out, and, in pretty good English, said with a heavy Russian accent, "Dread Milano is available."

Ahsoka walked in. She had heard the Peter and Paul fortress used to be beautiful, but the destruction caused by Tiberium had ravaged much of it… but she could still see some of its former splendor.

Entering the Fortress, she was lead to a small meeting room. A few minutes after she entered, Dread Milano came in, using a walking stick.

"I had a feeling you would come," he said. Ahsoka gave him a polite bow of the head. "Please, sit down, sit down."

The two sat down, and Ahsoka put her lightsaber on the table. Milano nodded, "I saw that you would recover it soon… but… I think I should tell you something. When I saw you with it, I also saw something else. Perhaps you are, familiar with it?"

Ahsoka frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Let's say that I saw that the Visitors would, one day, return. They will not forget this defeat so easily. If the world is to survive, GDI must prepare, but they also must consider the present. I cannot tell when they will return, but when they do… GDI must be ready."

Ahsoka nodded… and began disassembling her lightsaber, as Milano, surprised, watched. When she revealed the power source, the very orange Tiberium crystal he had originally recruited her to help find, he gasped. "I… I did not believe it when I saw it… I thought that I must have been false… but… it works?"

"Seems so." Ahsoka responded, "But what I don't get is how easily I recovered it… it was in the hands of a undermanned Black Hand listening post that was spotted by the Talons easily. It was like someone _wanted_ me to find it."

Milano rubbed his chin, "I'm rarely one to chalk it up on faith… perhaps Kane believed that you needed it as part of his 'plan', or perhaps he believes the safest place for the crystal is… in the hands of the one who would be… sacrificed with it."

"I dunno… but I doubt we'll ever find out… but," she began putting the lightsaber back together as she talked, "I'm just glad it's back… I won't loose any more sleep over the fact that Kane may very well of been using it."

"My advice is to continue on in GDI, or leave, as you choose, but no matter what, keep your blade close, and do not let anything or one steal it."

Ahsoka nodded as she clipped the reassembled lightsaber back onto her belt. Milano had some more to share however.

"Last night, I had a… terrible vision. A vision of GDI burning, the Visitors returned, the very foundation of GDI destroyed, much of the rest falling easily after… but… in it, I could feel hope. Like there was calm preparation for it… and it was going to keep fighting even after GDI had gone… like a lone guardian was waiting for it to happen, someone who had dedicated his, or her, life to standing watch, and there were others who did the same, quietly preparing… and they struck back."

Something clicked in Ahsoka's mind… _He might mean me… in GDI, heck, on this planet; I have the closest connection to the Scrin, closer than anyone else on this planet, hell, the Docs don't even know my whole lifespan, for all I know, I could live as long as Kane if one believes the 'Biblical Cain equals Kane' theory…_

She knew that the path of a Jedi, even if cut off from the Jedi Order, was often one of protecting the innocent… and these Scrin was one of the greatest threats to peace and the innocent. _It'd certainly be a proper thing to do… you aren't human, you shouldn't even be here… the least you can do is protect them._

She realized that that may have been the very reasoning why she and Rex had originally joined GDI… both because GDI had offered to take them in… and because joining GDI meant that they could help protect the innocent… something both had committed their lives too, if not in different ways.

She simply nodded, however, and said, "Interesting."

"Very." Dread Milano said, nodding himself. "However, I would, when the time comes, offer congratulations to Rex, he is quite lucky… but… mind him… I sense something dark in his future."

Ahsoka nodded. She could guess that the 'congratulations' was going to be about Sarah in the near future, _Heck, those two are probably going to tie a knot sooner or later… only thing slowing it down is the fact that they both got duties on different continents…_ But, the mention of a dark future worried her… it coincided with what she had been seeing as well…

"Now, one more thing, before you go." Milano said. "I am aware that you have noticed you've become… stronger, ever since Temple Prime?"

"Yes…" Ahsoka mentioned, surprised.

"I apologize for butting into what is not likely my business, but if I could offer a theory, it is that Kane modified your DNA or something very similar during your captivity. Perhaps he opened you up as a conduit towards the very same power that the Visitors used, so GDI could fight them? I know it sounds odd, but something tells me that, if Kane indeed intended them to come, then he would either have wanted to avoid taking the brunt, or would use it for his own ends. I suspect both. You being able to become a near literal _goddess_ against them would fit such a plan perfectly… but I do question the repercussions of such."

"Well, I doubt we'll ever find out… I just have to go with it now."

"Indeed. Farewell then, Lieutenant."

-

**One Month Later**

**ZOCOM Tacitus Storage Building**

**Cheyenne Mountain Complex**

**Yukon Territory, Canada**

**Blue Zone B-16**

General Renteria walked into the room with the Tacitus, "What is it, doctor?" she asked.

"The Tacitus is… reacting… oddly. Observe." A scientist said, pressing a few buttons. The GDI translation program began once more… but, to their surprise, although some of it translated, the Tacitus surged with bright white energy.

"What was that?" Renteria asked, frowning.

"That, General, was what we suspect to be the Tacitus entering… destabilization. Ever since the invasion ended, it's been happening. Quite rarely, but whenever we try to access particular pieces, it reacts this way."

"Avoid those pieces then," Renteria said, "Too many people died to get this damnable thing, stick with what isn't confirmed to destabilize it. What's the percentage right now?"

"Negligible, not even a whole percent."

"Be careful regardless, I won't have us wasting the sacrifice of more brave men and women than I can count wasted because we couldn't be careful with what it gave us."

Renteria's thoughts drifted, it was a new year, and ZOCOM had recovered fully from the Third Tiberium War… it was the beginning of 2048, and ZOCOM was getting closer to on schedule with Reclamation, if all went well, by 2062, they'd of contained Tiberium entirely, where all that would be left of it being Tiberium Spikes for drawing it up and refining some of it, refineries for big-time refinement, and silos for storing it.

She walked to the communications center, and called Mitchell.

"General Renteria?" Mitchell asked, appearing in a hologram in front of her.

"General Mitchell, I want you to temporarily transfer Lieutenant Tano to my command. The Tacitus is getting unstable, nothing that's alarming yet, but I want to head it off quickly. The young Lieutenant has a connection to the Scrin, right, an unusual one? Maybe she'd have some luck with it."

Mitchell frowned, but the nodded, "Very well. I'll pull her out of Hammerfest. She's sure gotten better over the last month, having too much fun with the Titians I think; she's cleaned the clocks of my top jockeys and even schooled Mammoth Tanks in our training skirmishes."

"Get anything useful out of it?" Renteria coldly asked.

"Actually, yes, we found several weak spots in the Mammoth's armor that Nod had enjoyed abusing during the war that we weren't able to figure out; the next version of the Mammoth-29 should cover that and it's not a very difficult retrofit."

Renteria shook her head; _At least he's realist enough to let us draw funds away from his precious Talons so we can actually deal with Tiberium…_ "Right, well, you know how important the Tacitus is, so get her over here pronto."

"Sheesh, wrong side of the MARV this morning?" Mitchell asked.

"Don't try and flatter me, I wasn't amused back under Solomon, I'm not amused now."

Mitchell cut the transmission, but not before Renteria heard something sounding akin to a denial.

-

**Two Days Later**

Ahsoka walked off the transport at an air pad just outside of the Tacitus facility and its primary defensive base, Renteria had come out to meet her.

"Lieutenant, good. Maybe you can help." Renteria said curtly, and lead Ahsoka an APC, which drove them to the Tacitus Containment Building, which, once they both were inside, had its dual Firestorm Generators turned back on. Ahsoka knew that even putting a toe through one of the energy shields would result in instant, painful, incendiary death.

"Over the last few months, the Tacitus is beginning to become unstable. Due to your connection with the Scrin and their seeming connection with the Tacitus, you're going to do some work with it. See if you can't pinpoint some things in this data matrix."

"OK…" Ahsoka hesitantly said… _This is… random._

She walked to the actual room with the Tacitus, one last Firestorm barrier protecting it. A soldier within turned it off, and they passed, before it was turned back on. Ahsoka walked up to the Tacitus, and extended her awareness, focusing on the Tacitus.

"What do you think, Lieutenant?" Renteria asked after a minute.

"Give it a test; I need to see how it reacts first to the testing. It's definitely got sentience to it, like an EVA unit. I'll have an easier time figuring it out if it's busy with something else."

"Very well. Dr. Johan?"

"Right away, General." One of the scientists said, activating a decryption process. Ahsoka focused on the Tacitus as it was, in a small piece, translated. Indeed, it was akin to an EVA unit in sentience… but very, _very_ stubborn. She also could sense something else… it was also akin to a Jedi Holocron. By focusing on it, Ahsoka realized quickly that she could, slightly, but, most importantly, safely, open up a fraction of the Tacitus, barring it hadn't been destabilized there already.

The process ended, and Ahsoka let go of her groped link.

"Well?" Renteria asked, slightly impatient.

"I can speed the translation process up, safely, but after one time, it's a bit hard to give a strong estimate… but I might be able to speed it up, safely by… maybe an extra word a day?"

"About twice as fast… well, better than nothing, and it may make a difference in the end. Any insight on how it works?"

"No," Ahsoka said, "Not that I'd be able to explain… it's a data matrix, it just takes the right manipulation… I only have the basic manipulation abilities." What she left unsaid was that a powerful Jedi would likely have a much easier time… but Ahsoka suspected that she wouldn't be seeing one anytime soon, so best _not_ to trouble the General, who wasn't in on the secret, with it.

"Very well. I'll discuss things with Mitchell, but expect that you'll be transferred here to assist in the decoding process."

"Alright, I'll keep helping with this. I assume another test is going to be done today?"

"No," Renteria responded, "We're limited to one test a day… if we try more than once, the Tacitus locks down. That's one of the reasons why translation is so slow. We've got about every letter in the alphabet for this thing, but it uses multiple languages, and not only that, but it uses them at random. This process has proven to be the best… but it cost us a precious six months to determine that."

Ahsoka nodded, "So basically, I come over every day for a single test, then guard duty?"

"Most likely." Renteria said coolly. _Whoops… forgot I can't be so informal with ZOCOM…_ Ahsoka winced slightly as she realized that. "Until then," Renteria finished, "consider yourself off-duty for the day, as you're, at the moment, 'on loan' from the Talons."

Ahsoka saluted, and left the building.

-

**Two Weeks Later**

**Steel Talons Base**

**Hammerfest, Norway**

**Blue Zone B-1**

"The Harrier is definitely an effective design, General. It's proving positive to all tests, and we've had few accidents with the gunship. I know it came in late to be useful in the war, but if there's a future one, and there probably will be, this'll help a _lot_ with rapid response and getting behind enemy lines, this thing can take a beating thanks to redundant systems and Ceramic armor we borrowed from ZOCOM. Tad pricy, but it's worth every credit."

"Good, good." Mitchell said, "any luck with Juggernauts or Behemoths?"

"Well, we'd have to flip the thing upside down beforehand, and that's a mess as if it gets loosened at all during flight…"

"I understand. Still, this will be helpful. It can carry Mammoth Tanks, I'm told?"

"Indeed it can. Do you wish to see it, General?"

"Of course, the main problem we've had with Mammoths was how hard it was to get them into the field, and those V-36's aren't in large enough numbers yet, and using two V-35's is really awkward and makeshift. But if what you're telling me is true, this thing can do everything the V-36 can do, _and_ it can take a heavier beating, for a little over the cost."

"That's correct."

Mitchell went out to watch the test. In the air, riding on a Hammerhead, Mitchell watched an un-crewed Mammoth Tank was rolled into position, and a Harrier flew in and picked it up. It then flew towards the training field. Several training rounds, really, cheap foam cut in the shape of Anti-Aircraft rounds, shot up, and the Harrier flew down, and, just feet above the ground, dropped the Mammoth Tank. It landed with a thud, and was remotely guided forward.

"Impressive," Mitchell said, "Has it been tested with _live_ pilots?"

"Yes sir, no injuries so long as they strap their crash webbing in."

"Good. I'll pitch the design to the council next session then. Get me _all_ the data, including the negative data. The Harrier may be the next generation of GDI rapid response, so we better make it clear we went through _everything_."

They flew back and Mitchell went into the command center. Suddenly however, the alarms went off.

"What is it?" Mitchell asked.

"UFO coming in hot. Looks like it came out of some sort of warp…. Hang on, getting an identification- aw crap! It's an Invader Drone Ship!"

"BATTLE STATIONS!" Mitchell shouted, "All units on alert!"

Suddenly, the main screen flickered. And Mitchell saw a Scrin man, or what Mitchell guessed was a man, wearing some sort of super-heavy spacesuit of Scrin make. It snarled in a language Mitchell couldn't recognize.

"Translation?" Mitchell asked.

"Hang on… uploading… Tacitus? What the heck is a- right, uploading translation… got it. Translation… uh… OK… here goes…_ Cult of the Steel Talon, surrender Her immediately, or face… obliteration and slavery at the hands of the Cult of the Traveler._

Mitchell flashed a grin, "A little late, baldie, you missed her by a few months. I know what happened, she told me. You got send running home with your tail between your legs at the Battle of Ground Zero, and I'm going to ground and pound you, Steel Talons style, and correct that mistake."

The alien, Traveler-59, snarled something, and Mitchell's communications officer translated, "_Then perish, we can wait for her to return. The Scrin shall prove victorious; your planet is doomed at the hands of its full military might, manling._"

The transmission cut to a snarl of insults.

"So much for coming in peace. Got a lock on his position?" Mitchell asked his Orbital Targeting officer.

"Yes sir. Ion Cannon being moved into position…"

"Hold the Ion Cannon. Orbital Slugs. I want that Drone Ship intact if possible. The other one disintegrated with Ground Zero cratered, this one hasn't. We need some more Intel, and I am particularly interested in how it survives without Tiberium infusion or whatever it is they use to survive. What are we looking at?"

"Looks like a dozen Annihilator Tripods, twenty Seekers, and a hundred Disintegrators lead by one of those freaking-weird Prodigies."

"The Scrin's Traveler-59 leader is here, and according to Lieutenant Tano, he's capable of taking on a MARV single handedly, unless it gets the first shot and hits. I want Wolverines on alert, and the moment you see him… blow him to bits with the Rail Guns and shred him with bullets. Be alert for that Prodigy, if you see it, top priority target."

"Sir yes sir! Moving Titians into position… all combat units standing by… Titian Squad four is engaging."

The battle was over quickly, and in Mitchell's favor. Stratosphere Command had granted him a Firehawk strike, and they flew in, and bombed the attack force, giving them a considerable advantage. Following that, the Ion Cannon blasted the attack group, and although they scattered for the Ion Cannon, it crippled them. The Titians, in trios, blew apart the lone Seekers, the Wolverines shredded the half dead Disintegrators before they could get in range, and the Behemoth's long range bombardments knocked the last two Tripods over, then having them finished off by focused fire from Mammoth Tanks. However, the Talons had several damaged Wolverines and Titians, as well as a Mammoth Tank, before victory was theirs, but there had been no deaths… but a near death. They closed in on the Drone Ship, and a Harrier gunship with an engineering team took off, flying towards the Drone Ship. The Titians and Mammoths blasted apart any Scrin portals, keeping them from bringing in reinforcements. The Drone Ship lifted off, trying to escape to a wormhole that had opened not too far off, but the Harrier caught up, and several soldiers rappelled inside. The sounds of gunfire inside, then the drone ship itself set down. The wormhole was closed as the Behemoths began to fire into it and (presumably) blow stuff up on the other side.

"We captured it, no sign of the enemy leader though."

"Sir, we got a trace on him. He's taking a small, elite guard of humanoid Scrin and they're running away! Shall we pursue?"

"Launch Orcas, and hunt him down."

"Yes sir… holy crap, these guys are skilled with stealth, we might have some difficulty tracking… ah nuts, a few mini wormholes opened and got them clear. Lookout post at the Tower in the Medd say that it flashed a few times, so it's probably a wormhole generator or something like that."

"Disturbing," Mitchell said, "Well, let's get the data we can from this Drone Ship before they remotely self destruct it."

"Sir," said a Steel Talons rifleman who had gotten into the Drone Ship, "this isn't good… we're bringing the Drone Ship in… think the Council should see what we've found…"

-

**One Day Later**

**GDI Council Meeting**

**Reykjavik, Iceland**

**Blue Zone B-15**

"General Mitchell…" Rex said slowly, "What you're telling me is that the Scrin are preparing a _full_ invasion force, which, if what ZOCOM has translated from the Tacitus and these Scrin databanks indicate as true, will be enough to _roll over us_ in land, sea, and air, once Tiberium has reached the appropriate level?"

"That is, unfortunately, correct." Mitchell said. The council was hesitant… if GDI couldn't contain Tiberium, well, the Scrin would come and even their famed military might would likely be destroyed… but if they did, GDI's military might be stretched too thin… but they _had_ to destroy Tiberium's threat to Earth.

Renteria then said, "I've reports of scout groups of similarly equipped Scrin deploying in the Red Zones as well, I believe they are making preparations for such. A vanguard, if you will. ZOCOM is at full stretch, Councilors, with the Red and Yellow Zone Reclamation. However, we have yet to detect any group of Scrin that would pose a serious threat, but the fact that they're specially equipped for _non_ Tiberium environment, which they did not even outfit their initial invasion force with, indicates that we're a very high threat rating."

Councilor Smith, who had replaced Boyle as Treasurer, chimed in, "Between all the projects, we have no funds to spare towards any anti-Scrin projects beyond redirecting military resources to deal with this."

Councilor Stark, who was in charge of Ecology, had something else to say. "Tiberium contamination is still too dangerous for us to focus on anti-Scrin operations, but because Tiberium and the Scrin are hand in hand, there _must_ be redirection of resources against them. We need to empty our non-essential garrisons, outfit them for this, and go _after_ the Scrin on Earth, before they delay Reclamation to a danger zone."

Mitchell, who had had enough, finally said, "Damn it, the Steel Talons have been _itching_ for action, and we're here."

"No," Smith said, "I purpose the Steel Talons be downgraded to a small, special weapons division. No, down to just Hammerfest. We transfer most of their units to ZOCOM to counter Tiberium and these Scrin patrols. Two birds, one stone."

"Hang on," Rex finally said, "I'm a former Talon myself, but they're working on our next generation of equipment, a number of them are being _specifically tailored for ZOCOM_. Downsizing them to just Hammerfest will leave us with a lot of spare equipment to…"

"We melt down those Wolverines and Titians, they're too expensive, and use the metal to make some more modernized equipment."

Mitchell snarled, like a bear that had just been insulted. "If it weren't for the Steel Talons," he shouted, "The Scrin would of _walked over_ us and kicked us away like a soda can, or have you forgotten the fact that it was the _Titians and Wolverines_ that got two of the highest kill-death ratios against them?"

"And ZOCOM Raiders got the top kill ratio," Stark responded, "All in all, they're a better investment. Don't worry, we'll leave a few _toys_ for you to _play_ with, but ZOCOM needs a bigger part of the budget."

"Councilors," Renteria finally said, "Mitchell, loud-mouthed, cocky, and sometimes stupid as he is, has a point. The Steel Talons are a key part of GDI; we would have lost without their armor superiority. Yes, we've stripped their arsenal and prominence steadily, but Mitchell raises _valid points_. He created the Talons predicting that Nod would have support in what were becoming Yellow Zones. _He was right._ We all ridiculed him, saying he was past his prime. We were all proven wrong when we had to face twenty militants per GDI soldier."

Mitchell looked at her, shocked that she, of all people, was defending him.

"I agree, ZOCOM will need reinforcement because we're specially trained to deal with Tiberium, but the Talons must remain operation, and more than just the Hammerfest base. However, I am in favor of redirection for the Steel Talons…"

Mitchell sighed, "The Talons will continue trying to ready the next generation of weapons, but we'll be ready for war when it comes, and it _will_ come."

Councilor Smith then said, "I purpose we redirect the Steel Talons into an anti-Scrin task force, _specifically_ anti-Scrin. Nod is broken, and it'll be easy enough for the Talons to quickly repurpose if needed."

"Both fish are in equal need of frying," General Granger finally said calmly, "I purpose that we transfer some, but by far not all, Blue Zone troops to either ZOCOM to hunt down these Scrin, or the Steel Talons to end the last few militias of Nod. Afterwards, Mitchell can support the effort against the Scrin. Most of ZOCOM remains as is, focusing on Tiberium. The Steel Talon support will allow them to return more troops to Reclamation and let the more armored and assault-based forces push the last of the Scrin out, and nip this nightmare in the bud."

"All in favor of General Granger's resolution?" Rex asked. Mitchell said 'aye' immediately, just before Renteria. Granger was an automatic 'aye' as he purposed it.

"Nay," Councilor Stark said.

"Aye." Councilor Smith said.

In the end, it was a close vote. Seven to six in favor. Mitchell, Renteria, Granger, Smith, and the Councilors of Public Relations, Space Programs, and Yellow Zones agreed. The Blue Zone councilor (picked amongst all the Zone governors to represent them on the Council), as well as the councilors of trade, Law, Ecology, (re)Construction, and International Relations (a somewhat redundant job, but important) voted against it.

"It's passed then," Rex said, "Seven to Six means it passes slimly. Mitchell, do you, as a General, accept this?"

"I do," Mitchell said, nodding. Rex knew he was compromising.

"General Renteria, would you please provide logistics for this resolution, as the Red Zones, where most of these Scrin are appearing, are your specialty?"

"Very well, Director." Renteria answered.

"Very well. Now, onto the next matter, the Harrier Gunship…"

-

**Mitchell's Office**

**Reykjavik, Iceland**

**Blue Zone B-15**

"General Mitchell, a word."

"Sure, General Renteria."

Renteria walked into Mitchell's borrowed office, and said, "Look, what I left unsaid was that I want some of the Steel Talons to redeploy to the Mount Cheyenne Complex, to protect the Tacitus. General Granger is going to redeploy some trustworthy Blue Zone units there as well. This would free ZOCOM up to deal with the Red Zones fully since we'd be able to transfer a number of troops from Cheyenne to various other points of the world."

"Of course," Mitchell said, "I presume that the coming-in squads will handle exterior defensive posts?"

"Of course, but the elites would get transferred to the interior as well."

"Very well. Given its ZOCOM premises, I presume that even if the councilors outvote and get the Talons decommissioned or reduced to, as they put it, Hammerfest, the Steel Talon units there would be able to avoid decommission?"

"Correct." Renteria stated. "Also, given the fact that these advanced patrols seem interested in Lieutenant Tano, I want to keep her off the lines, give the Scrin less of a chance to get to her. She's still part of the Steel Talons, so it's your call."

Mitchell frowned. He never liked picking for someone. "For now, yes."

"Good, she'll be safe at Mount Cheyenne, don't worry, she still gets leave, she just has to stay within a couple hours of the base."

"As I recall, a small village popped up there just so that there would be a place for the soldiers there to go on leave…"

-

**One Week Later**

Sarah looked out the window. She and Rex were on another date, this time visiting one of the fancier, non-French and less occupied restaurants, they had spent a number of the nights together when she had come back from her tour of duty. She would be heading back out in a few days.

"Sarah," Rex finally said. Something had been troubling him lately, and she didn't know what it was… but she could tell he was tense by how he moved and looked at her.

"Yes?" Sarah asked. She then noticed Rex sliding out a small box… suddenly, he was kneeling, a wedding ring visible in said box, and asked, "Will you marry me?"

She blinked a moment as it registered to her brain what he had just asked. She waited a moment, mulling it over briefly… _Your answer was made quite a while ago Sarah…_ she told herself, _Still, you should give it at least a moment's thought._ She did.

"Yes," she said after that moment, smiling, and grabbing Rex's hand, pulling him up and herself too, "I will." They kissed.

"'**Bout damn time**!" shouted someone in the distance… it was Nick Seymour "Havoc" Parker. As Rex and Sarah looked around, they realized that a number of GDI soldiers had, 'conveniently', chosen to head out to the restaurant that night…

"Haha, Score!" shouted McCarthy as a dozen GDI soldiers started grumbling as they handed him credits.

"Stang…" Rex muttered to himself, "I told them that it was none of their business and to get FUBAR'd at Sammy's…"

Sarah smiled, "Ah, they take their comedy where they can get it. Besides, we were subject to a large number of bets."

"Well, it doesn't ruin the moment for me at all." He said, smiling.

Havoc's face suddenly paled, as he remembered his bet… Conrad, Fullerton, and Higgins were grinning evilly from the next table, Fullerton pulling a pink, overly feminine nanny's outfit out of his backpack. Sarah did not want to know where they got it….

-

**The Next Day**

**Mount Cheyenne Complex**

**Blue Zone B-16**

"Alright, that ought to do it for the day," Doctor Johan said, "Thanks again for the help."

"No problem," Ahsoka responded, heading out. She had leave that day, and since the local village was actually populated mostly by the families of the on-station ZOCOM soldiers, Ahsoka wasn't expecting to get comments or someone try to shoot her out of place, as it was common knowledge she was stationed there… and wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous person in GDI.

As she was walking back to one of the Barracks complexes, she noticed several Harrier Gunships coming in low… carrying Steel Talon equipment. McCarthy came out as one of the Harriers landed.

"Don't tell me," Ahsoka asked with a grin, "Mitchell didn't want me to be alone surrounded by ZOCOM?"

McCarthy grinned, then took a more serious tone. "Actually, we're transferring some Steel Talon units here, so ZOCOM can focus more on other things. Political situation is getting a bit anti-Talon right now that there's civilian leadership on the council again; this is a failsafe against them decommissioning the Talons."

"Sacrifices must be made to return GDI to its true form, though the Talons being decommissioned would be excessive." Ahsoka commented, to which McCarthy nodded.

"Anyways, I also brought some news you're gonna like…" He paused a moment…

"Rex and Sarah are getting hitched. He asked her last night, she said yes. Wedding as soon as we can get everyone whose coming Leave with enough time for it."

Ahsoka's jaw dropped, but she slapped it shut again after realizing it was going to happen eventually. _They really do love each other… but I am a bit worried, I mean… he's GDI's leader and she's a common soldier… OK, a junior officer, but still; isn't that going to cause problems? Or are they confident enough that they can avoid attachment issues when things get nasty again like they seem to be lately?_

"I'll have to send Rex my congratulations, I can't exactly go too far from the place in the foreseeable future, Renteria needs me working on the Tacitus. 'course, it still slow as hell."

McCarthy nodded, "Well, there's a cute little chapel in the village, right?"

"Oh yeah," Ahsoka answered, "Right on a cliff side- Oh." She realized then what he was getting at. "You know I'm _not_ going to be the flower girl or maid of honor, right?"

The Talons who were watching the conversation paused suddenly, as if they were trying to imagine it… several bawled out laughing.

"Anyways," McCarthy said, "We gotta go check in with the local command and get our assignments. Stevenson's going to be coming in with a Talon MCV later on once Renteria clears us to set up a Talon base as an extra deterrent against someone making a play here."

-

**Steel Talon Base**

**Hammerfest, Norway**

**Blue Zone B-1**

"Haha!" Mitchell exclaimed as he read a letter in his office, "Knew Rex was gonna do it. Well, least he's a civilian now."

"Wait a second," McNeil said, appearing as a hologram nearby, "The GDI director is a civilian?"

"Yep." Mitchell said grinning, "Of course, Rex still has his Commander rank if he wants to head back to the army, either resigning as Director, or someone replaces him in a legal vote, but until he reactivates his commission, he's a civvy."

"Speaking of civilians," McNeil said, "I got a bunch of refugees down here in Australia begging for GDI bases to be set up near their towns. I don't have the manpower to answer them all, and they aren't satisfied with GDI Rapid Response or even RAID."

"How many of those towns have militias?"

"Almost all of them do, especially after the Second Firestorm Crisis. Thing is though, a Nod militant squad would probably be more capable then them."

"Use the spare refined Tiberium from the Australian Reclamation, hammer out some gear and assist in turning each local militia into a localized GDI guard force and set up an Infantry Post." Mitchell suggested, "If they don't like that, well, see what the other towns think. Set up small bases in the larger towns, obviously, and work from there."

McNeil nodded, "By the way, if you get the chance, I'd appreciate if you could try getting the old Hover MRLS back into GDI usage. RAID could use some hit and run… or more accurately, counter hit-and-run"

"Will do once the big-wigs spare some budget, though the high-mobility patrols don't seem to be too high in the Council's mind, even with the Scrin back in very small amounts all over the place. Fixed bases aren't hunting them down, but the Council won't see it."

"Fixed bases are getting harder and harder to use, I agree, even if we decommission them afterwards, and you know how much of a pain that is. I'll see you at the next Generals' Meeting then."

"See you then, General McNeil."

Mitchell turned it off and smiled, Rex was getting married, and he was going to be the best man, he knew it. _Hmmm. Ahsoka obviously isn't going to let anyone even _think_ about her as the flower girl or maid of honor… maybe my niece for the flowers, Sarah obviously is going to be choosing the maid of honor… speaking of which, I haven't seen my lovely niece in a while…_

-

**Two Months Later**

**Mount Cheyenne Village**

**Blue Zone B-16**

Ahsoka glanced at the guest list, her dress uniform (really, just more fancy, skin-tight suit of GDI armor with the Steel Talon's insignia stamped on the shoulders) was pretty comfortable, but she honestly missed having proper armor, as it left her feeling vulnerable. Her wrist EVA was concealed under the dress uniform, but much smaller than the normal one so it didn't look like a giant hematoma on her wrist.

Last night, the bachelor party had gone on at the Steel Talon base barracks. Unbeknownst to the paparazzi however, the wedding and all such would be taking place in Mount Cheyenne. The public and paparazzi believed it would take place in an obscure Blue Zone village in Europe. This had kept the paparazzi a whole half of the world away as they combed the place to find the 'location'. If they did find the place where a dummy wedding was being set up by the Steel Talons (near Hammerfest), the Talons would kick them out.

She knew why it had taken two months to get it all organized, a lot of the attendees were GDI soldiers, especially since it was supposed to be smaller, so getting everyone's leave organized took a while. The small chapel had been swept by GDI InOps a few dozen times because so many high-ranking personnel would be there. Ahsoka had a strong feeling that InOps planted their own all over the area out of paranoia, and they had soundproofed the entire chapel (which was not difficult as it was already). _No wonder why the budget is so tight every year,_ Ahsoka decided, _though at least it's going to a better purpose then when under Boyle…_

She was off to one of the corner seats; she had decided to stick to the back end of the chapel. She didn't have to explain why.

The guests began to file in, most of them either wearing dress uniforms or something more civilian, but almost every one of them had a GDI service pistol holstered on their hip. The commandos Havoc, Conrad (and his ZOCOM Construction Yard/MCV driving counterpart), Fullerton, Higgins, the Zone Raider and maid-of-honor, Park, General McNeil, Commander Locke, Stevenson, Lieutenant McCarthy (who Ahsoka heard was about to begin Commando training), and a number of other officers she had a bit of trouble recognizing unless they were of the Steel Talons.

The final preparations were made, and people began to sit down in their respective places. The priest who was going to conduct the whole ceremony stood at the podium, General Mitchell (wearing a surprisingly well kept dress uniform) stood on the groom's side. He was the best man. The Zone Raider, Park, was the Maid of Honor and was standing on the opposite side, in a surprisingly pretty dress, despite it contrasting Park's rugged body. _Here Comes the Bride_ began to play as Rex, sporting a tuxedo (borrowed from General Granger himself) that fit him well. Ahsoka knew however, that under the Tux, he had slipped what he could of his Clone Army under tunic that wouldn't be visible. Sarah came in behind him, dressed in a stunning white wedding gown. As the bride and groom both reached the podium, Ahsoka felt someone tap her shoulder. She glanced behind her, it was Havoc, and next to him was Stevenson and Locke, all three had their hands on the service pistols they had bought (as rifles were locked up in one of the three GDI bases).

"Shhh," Locke said, "We got a problem, come on."

Ahsoka nodded, quietly slipping out of her chair. No one noticed them leave, as the ceremony began. Outside, Ahsoka finally asked, "Alright, what's wrong? Paparazzi? You know I'm not the one to…"

"Nope, mercs." Locke said, "Turns out someone left Boyle a hunk of cash, and he's hired a band of mercenaries. They're coming here as we speak, and by the time we raise the base, they'll have stormed the wedding."

"Great," Ahsoka said, "So why not warn everyone?"

"Because that's what Boyle wants," Havoc answered, "No, we're going to ruin his plans. Between the four, well, three of us, Locke's got something else; we should be able to easily clean these punks up, even without the benefit of GDI equipment."

Ahsoka nodded, and glanced to the north. A group of men were coming down, many of them looking to be armed with GD-2 rifles…

"There they are," Locke said, "I'm going to see if I can't raise some help for you." With that, he hurried into town.

Ahsoka lit her lightsaber, glad the chapel had been soundproofed, "Let's do it!"

The first mercenary came into range, and opened fire. Ahsoka deflected the bolts back into him, killing him, while using the Force to grab his rifle and bring it flying to Havoc, who caught it and opened fire himself. One of the mercenaries came in with a laser-based chain gun, Ahsoka pulled that too and sent it to McCarthy, who caught it and opened fire.

"Why does he get the chain gun?" Havoc asked as he rolled to the side, shooting three of the mercenaries in the head with crack, lethal precision.

"You got the GD-2." Ahsoka answered as she deflected GD-2 rounds back with her lightsaber. _Good thing GDI infantry use blasters now!_

Havoc grumbled, pulling a grenade that he had somehow smuggled into the chapel and threw it at the mercenaries, blasting a number of them away. One of them flew high, over their heads and past the chapel, landing with a sickening crunch on the other side… and down the cliff face it was built onto. Ahsoka rushed forward, deflecting laser rounds back, and began to cut through the mercenaries. Suddenly, something whipped past her. _Sniper!_ She looked up and saw a (likely rogue) GDI sniper taking aim at her. He fired again, but Ahsoka deflected the round back, catching the sniper in the chest. He collapsed, rolling down the hill.

"Hang on commandos," Locke said via radio, "I got an Orca en route to help you, and I'm sending you a Wolverine. More security details are en route. Stand by."

An Orca flew in, with ZOCOM modifications, and barraged the scattering mercenaries, several of which pulled out rocket launchers and fired on the Orca, forcing it to retreat as they scored a direct hit on its engine, nearly sending it down to Earth as flaming metal and a dead pilot. The Wolverine was landed by a Harrier, Mitchell had sent a few prototype Harriers over the week before, and it opened fire, mowing down several mercenaries. The mercenaries began to retreat, seeing they were outmatched by unexpected GDI, ZOCOM, and Steel Talon retaliation.

"They're breaking, good." Locke said as a squadron of Orcas came in, bombarding them as they went. "Well then, we might as well try and get back to the wedding."

Ahsoka twirled her lightsaber as she tuned it off, watched the last few mercenary survivors flee. The Orcas broke off after a flyby, it was a victory. Ahsoka looked into the window, just in time to see Rex and Sarah kiss, and the audience began to clap.

_They're married,_ Ahsoka thought, smiling. She went towards one of the side doors, and as she opened it, she suddenly felt something…

Suddenly, a sniper round rang out, Ahsoka whirling around, fearing the worst: But instead, the flowers (which had been planted above in a crate) had been broken open, the flowers alone falling out harmlessly. The sniper's bullet had flown through the open door and into the box… no one inside knew that a sniper had almost taken out either the bride or the groom.

"Damn," Havoc muttered, unaware his wrist EVA was on, "I was going to make Higgins and Conrad piss their pants by suddenly shooting it open myself you fucking sniper." Ahsoka then heard some sickening cracks and crunches… and she knew Havoc was savagely beating up the hired killer with his armored fists.

_That was close…_ Ahsoka decided, realizing how close that the wedding had been to a tragic end… She put such thoughts out of her mind, and went inside. The guests had all got up and began socializing at the sides, many of them getting drinks.

"So Ahsoka," asked Park as Ahsoka got poured a class of some finely aged beer (reportedly stored within the Talon's vaults, and then recovered from a pre-Tiberium vault), "Where'd you go when the stuff began?"

"Oh, small problem that had to be taken care of, nothing major."

"Yuh-huh. Sure." Park said, not believing her, but playing along. Ahsoka took a sip from her glass. She didn't drink very often, but she wasn't one to turn it down. _Besides, helps unwind after a fight. _GDI soldiers from the bases were outside busy cleaning up the mess from the skirmish, but the wedding, or rather, the celebration after, was proceeding apace. Later, a large box was rolled in… and as the covering blanket was removed as was the solid sheet metal protection, Ahsoka blinked as she saw what it was: Someone (and Ahsoka had a very shrewd idea who) had the wedding cake be shaped like a Mammoth Mark II, with the usual bride-and-groom doll no where to be seen… but there was a small… 'Illustration' at the cockpit that implied Bride and Groom… of course, it wasn't likely that anyone would notice.

"MITCHELL!" someone shouted long and slow, and Ahsoka then heard a distinct, "Gotta go!" from Mitchell as he sped out the door, running to the Wolverine he had parked nearby, with Park and a few other Zone Raiders in hot pursuit. She heard the sound of a Wolverine powering up and medium, robotic steps and the whir of a gyrostabilizer.

"Mitchell's screwed, isn't he?" Rex asked, looking at Sarah, bemused.

"Probably. I'm not filling out the forms though…"

"The real question," Havoc asked dismissively, "Is how we're gonna cut this thing… heck, how does it even stay up?"

"Note the thin, almost sheet-like steel bars on the inside and the bottom," McNeil said, pointing. "Least this one won't get EMP'd by Banshees…"

With difficulty, skill, Steel Talon stubbornness and mainline GDI determination, they managed to get the cake cut out and not have it all collapse and ruin it. Ahsoka was mildly disturbed that she was eating a part of a Rail Gun… or its cake equivalent. _I almost expect my head to blow off any second… is that a bad thing… the expectation of course…_

As the party came to an end and everyone began to leave, needing to return to their duties within GDI, Mitchell's voice, almost a cry, was heard: "THE CAKE WAS A LIE!"

-

**Six Weeks Later**

**ZOCOM Reclamation Base Eden-Four**

**Munich, Germany**

"That can't be right doctor…" Sarah said, shaking her head.

"I'm afraid," the GDI medic said, "its true, Captain. Congratulations."

Sarah shook her head repeatedly, surprised that it was happening _then_ of all times… she and Rex had only spent a week together in the small cabin that they had, using the mutual savings from their pay, bought, located near the Mount Cheyenne Facility (a matter of practicality, it meant that Sarah would be near a ZOCOM base if needed, and Rex would be able to access GDI)… she would be on leave in a week…

She had an interesting nine months ahead of her…

-

**One Week Later**

**Harrier Gunship **_**Bad Titian**_

**En Route to Blue Zone B-16**

Rex dropped his jaw when he heard. "You're… you're… _pregnant?!_"

"I am," Sarah said, still stunned.

Rex groaned, "This is going to take some getting used to…" He had a number of worries, the least of which was the press and the field day they'd have, the second greatest being the child him (or her)self, especially since both parents were military (albeit, he was in a more round-a-bout way)… and the greatest: how Sarah was going to fare with it… especially since _she_ was the one who was going to be giving birth…

His mind began to race as he considered everything, both from a logistical point of view, and personally. He was boggled.

-

**ZOCOM Command Post**

**Mount Cheyenne Facility**

**Blue Zone B-16**

General Renteria was unsurprised the least when Ahsoka mentioned the news to her.

"Well, I've been meaning to switch out some of the Raiders here," Renteria commented, "Should solve a couple problems at once." She made a mental note to send a congratulations card to General Granger; he was finally going to become a grandfather after all these years.

-

**Nine Months Later**

_**Holy Cross**_** Medical Hospital**

**Washington DC**

**Blue Zone B-2**

"That's it, that's it…" the nurse said, "OK… push!"

Sarah gave a groan as she pushed. Finally, she stopped, catching her breath.

"Come on, come on… there we go…" the nurse kept encouraging. Rex paced, he was tense, worried… he had read files, from many sources, about childbirth… some of it was scary… _the fact that mothers have died giving birth…_

"Don't worry Rex," Sarah said, smiling, "I'm fine… I'm almost… there."

Her hand was outstretched, and Rex took hold of it, sitting next to her in the chair, as she pushed again.

Havoc was outside, keeping the press back. Unfortunately, the paparazzi had learned from their wedding cover up and had stationed agents at every convincible location and ignored Hammerfest, despite the Steel Talons mock ups and covers implying that Sarah had went there. Because a informant saw Rex and Sarah head in the day before, the paparazzi rushed over. The door, in response, had been heavily reinforced to prevent someone from forcing an entry, and it was soundproofed. A large bang indicated the paparazzi had attempted to floor Havoc and break in with their arsenal of cameras. Several painful screams followed as there were multiple thuds, many in close succession or in groups of ten. Havoc, although an older man, was still capable of flooring them all.

With a great heave, Sarah began to pant… the nurse was cradling something in her arms… she went off to the side…

"It's a boy," the nurse finally said, bringing the newborn to the parents, putting him in Sarah's arms.

"He has your face," Sarah said, drawing a finger across the young baby's forehead.

"You're eyes though," Rex said. He glanced at the little patch of hair… "Maybe your hair too… too early to tell though…"

"What will we name him?" Sarah finally asked.

Rex paused… a number of easy; one word (sometimes syllable) names passing through his head… _all of them belonged to a Clone Trooper at one point or another… at one point by now unless the Jedi slowed the aging down…_

Hevy, Fives, Echo, Joc, Ince, Ross, Boro, Jet… _No… those are nicknames…_ Cody, Gree, Bly…

Then a name came to him…

"How about Coric?" Rex suggested, thinking of his former sergeant and friend back in the Clone Army. "It's a good name, and the namesake was one of the most honorable men I knew…"

"Coric Granger…" Sarah said to herself… "What about his middle name though?"

"Someone from your side of the family," Rex answered.

She paused a minute, considering. "Coric Benjamin Granger."

Rex nodded, unaware of the fact that the middle name (or the common short for it) happened to become an alias of General Obi-Wan Kenobi, after the Clone Wars (which he had missed the end of due to being chonoshifted to Earth).

The future looked bright now, the paparazzi having had enough of getting cleaned up by a man old enough to be their great grand father...

-

**Author's Notes: Given there's no Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes this week or next week, I'll post the rest of Cloned Tiberium on the Fridays to make up for it.**

**This is, really, the only chapter that has less of a focus on blowing &#$ up and actually interaction… but hey, what wedding in Command & Conquer would be incomplete without a fight and a cake shaped like the most badass GDI (ground) unit in history?**

**On the Scrin, consider them to be scouts that aren't able to connect very well back to the Scrin Ichor Hub, thus preventing them from, when Earth does get screwed to Scrin happiness, they can't communicate. The presence of small Scrin patrols is to ensure that the new GDI faction for the sequel, the **_**Firestorm Taskforce**_** (recreated one last time) makes sense.**

**The real shame is that I have one more thing to do before Cloned Tiberium comes to an end… The Battle of Mount Cheyenne… **_**Tacitus Reclaimed**_**. The true shame… is what I must do for the battle's story. But, as an author, I won't deny such a juicy cliff hanger that shall come from its end.**

**I'll probably wind up renaming the fanfic, in tradition of Westwood with the Tiberium series (renaming the original **_**Command & Conquer**_** to **_**Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn**_**, as to differentiate the original from its sequel, **_**Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun**_**, and the **_**Command & Conquer: Red Alert**_** series.) Input votes via reviews please, but be aware, as author, I reserve the right to choose the subtitle when I rename it.**


	24. Chapter 24: Kane's Wrath

_In bunkers deep beneath the earth, in a red zone in Russia and South East Asia, a sleeping army awaits your call. They are the Marked of Kane. They are devoted to the prophecy and sacrificed _their minds and bodies_ to our cause. Half human, half machine, they have been dormant since the end of the Second Tiberium War. They need but one thing: someone to give them purpose, someone to give them _**life**_!_

_--_

_When I first dreamt of the __**Marked of Kane**__, I knew only you, my child, could guide and direct them. I have... freed them, from the burden of autonomy. Some await you in hidden vaults deep beneath the Earth; others walk amongst the living, completely unaware of their secret destiny… This sleeping army must be awakened; you must claim the cybernetic nodes that control them. Claim the nodes and the Tacitus._

_--_

_Behold for I shall open the Vaults and cause them to arise onto the land... and they shall be _**legion**_. My prophecies are as true for you are now one with the __**Marked of Kane**__. They are the physical embodiment of your will. An army of the Deathless, the Enlightened, the Redeemed. Take them__**, use them!**_

_-_

_They are like _**CHILDREN**_ playing with a __**nuclear weapon**__! They have no idea what they've done! The Tacitus is dangerously unstable, _DO YOU SEE HOW IT'S SIGNAL IS FLUCTUATING?!_ If we are to recover it, we must move quickly before we loose it __**FOREVER!**_

-Kane to LEGION, successor of CABAL, informing LEGION of the Marked of Kane, as the latter prepares to lead the Black Hand to reactivate them, and after the activation of the Marked of Kane, and telling LEGION how unstable the Tacitus is, respectively.

**Chapter 24: Kane's Wrath**

**Mount Cheyenne Facility**

**Blue Zone B-16**

**Date: July 24****th****, 2052. Four Years Later**

Rex smiled at Coric as he was playing with the child's building blocks they had gotten him. In the last four years, things had gone well. Tiberium was being curtailed back, a number of border Yellow Zone areas officially integrated into Blue Zones and even bits of Red Zones had been returned to Yellow Zone status. The world was entering what some were predicting to be a golden age of peace. He had publically stated that it wouldn't be time to call such until Tiberium had been contained fully, warning that it had proven a difficult challenge and could easily threaten such peace. Some of the politicians gave him flak for making such a statement, but Rex flatly answered, 'If we lie to those we protect, we're as good as Nod.' Speaking of them, Nod had disappeared entirely over the last year, with only the rare car bombing of a GDI tank or a few militants thinking they could take on a GDI squad. In fact, it was said that a GDI soldier was now more likely to die from getting struck by non-Ion lightning.

The week before, however, he had heard reports of cyborg activity, but he had sent McNeil, who had replaced Granger on the GDI council after the latter asked to leave and focus on the army (and, in private to Rex, to avoid complications), as well as heading up GDI's RAID (Rapid Assault & Intercept Deployment) division, supplementing the RAID units with regular GDI soldiers, to investigate. Despite McNeil's failure in Australia during the Scrin invasion, Rex was more than confident that he'd be able to find out what had happened.

Sarah had, fortunately, avoided a good amount of trouble being both a mother and a soldier, as her reassignment after Coric was born was to protect the Mount Cheyenne facility, which 'happened' to be near their new home. Rex had nothing to do with the assignment, but he had a shrewd idea that Renteria wanted to pull Sarah off the lines for a while, and more than just leave, or, evidently, pregnancy. This had allowed Sarah to take care of the young Coric when Rex was dealing with politics, cover her duties and still have free time. She also helped out with training the next generation of Zone Raiders and Troopers at ZOCOM's nearby training facility. To be fair however, Rex covered for her in raising Coric when he was around, giving her a break, but they both knew that the local day care had to have Coric around a lot, though he was going to be starting preschool that fall, which would ease the burden on all of them.

Ahsoka, however, had grown a tad distant to Rex, partially because he never saw her very often because of their work and a mutually-agreed upon reason; Mitchell had finally shoved a Captain's promotion down her throat, and had her being the main Talon officer for the local Steel Talon base, a dual responsibility, decoding the Tacitus (which tired her for the rest of the day), and working on the next generation equipment that ZOCOM needed. Mostly, it was finished prototypes stashed at that base, Mitchell wanted Ahsoka (who had some mechanical skill) to give them a flight/drive and see if he missed anything and either shoot him some notes, or send the modified prototype back.

However, she avoided Coric, and Rex understood why, in fact, they had discussed that shortly after Coric was born: She was going to wait until Coric had grown up enough to be able to handle not only what she really was, but how they had wound up on Earth in the first place. In general, Rex and Sarah would only mention her as 'your adopted really big sister Ahsoka' until such a time had been reached, predicted by Rex to, hopefully, be in his teen years (as he had been a hardened veteran by then, though Sarah was more skeptical). However, Ahsoka had regained a lot of the fire that had marked her teen years, even if she wasn't able to put it to use yet. Rex was proud of her, and knew that he'd be able to be proud of Coric one day too.

There was a knock on the door, and Rex answered. "Yes?"

It was Lieutenant Stevenson, who was now a Commando assigned to the Steel Talons, bringing the number of Steel Talon commandos up to two total; him, and Ahsoka. "Sir, General Renteria wants to speak with you, soon."

Rex nodded, and he knew exactly what it was. Tacitus experiments were being done much slower now, and only when Ahsoka was available. Reportedly, it was now at a 15% chance of total destabilization with their current technique, forcing them to rely on Ahsoka, who, being a Jedi and the Tacitus being akin to one of their holocrons, could, slowly, open the Tacitus without risking overload, assuming they did not hit upon a previously unknown unstable area. Reportedly, assuming the blanks filled in as Doctor Johan was thinking, GDI would gain a new advance in technology. They had just one more test to do before it was translated in that area… it was in thirty minutes.

"Alright, I'll be down there in fifteen minutes. Thank you, Lieutenant."

Rex shut the door, and walked back inside. "Coric, I have to go to work. Get your stuff together; I need to drop you off at the daycare."

"Aw, but daddy…" Coric responded, almost a whine.

"No buts," Rex said, with a slight smile on his face, "It's very important work, as you know. I'll be over as soon as I'm done to pick you up. Just two hours."

Coric sighed, and, with some difficulty as he was still getting used to walking, got his lunchbox and came out. Rex grabbed his clone trooper helmet (he never left without it, really, keeping it handy just in case). They walked down to the town, which was a decent walk, though Rex wound up carrying Coric through the harder and steeper parts… and when Coric was tired. Leaving him at the local daycare (set up for the GDI soldiers' kids when there was either no spouse who could take care of them or their spouse was away), Rex got a ride on one of the Harriers that regularly shuttled between the bases and the village. He entered the Tacitus facility itself after the Firestorm Barriers were deactivated. As he entered the control room, General Renteria nodded. "Are we ready?"

"Ready, ma'am," Johan said, "Last test commencing, recording only. Captain Tano standing by… begin."

A minute later, and the process was done, the Tacitus flashing briefly. Ahsoka spent an extra minute, doing what Rex knew to be a stabilization process which, while it wasn't reversing it yet, was slowing it down. _Sure glad General Skywalker taught her basics for using a Holocron… what ever those Jedi do for those things, it's paying off now._

"Alright, data recorded and sent to the GDI archives…" Johan said as the last bit of data read by, "Hang on; I'm detecting something on the radar…"

Ahsoka's eyes widened, and then Rex heard it… never ceasing, perfectly synchronized marching…

"_No… it _can't be! _That's __**impossible!**_"Rex said, stepping backwards as memories of the Clone Wars' horrible battles flooded back to him…

-

Sarah checked the charge on her Sonic Grenade launcher. She had noticed Rex walk in, and was assigned just outside the control room that day. Although most Zone units were deployed in Red and Yellow Zones, the Tacitus warranted enough security that an entire battalion of Zone infantry had been deployed to protect it. It was considered a good investment as too many had died to get the Tacitus for it to be lost because GDI wanted to save money, on that, the GDI military had invoked it's authority of troop deployment, even as Boyle had tried to cut costs, such as shutting down GDI production of the Mammoth Mark II (a highly controversial decision as the Mammoth Mark II was seen as a symbol of freedom). Suddenly, the alarms went off and the Firestorm Defenses were turned on to maximum.

"**Unknown Cybernetic Army Inbound! All units, Priority Alert!"** EVA shouted.

"What the hell?" Sarah asked, turning. "Command, what's going on?"

"Cy-cy-cy," stuttered a GDI lookout on the radio, "_**CYBORGS!**_ Oh sweet mother of Jesus… Oh God…"

Sarah's eyes widened as she ran towards the door to see for herself. She tried to open it, but it didn't open. The Tacitus Building had self-sealed. She and the security soldiers inside were stuck until the alert was cancelled…

-

"Couldn't they of stored the Tacitus somewhere more tropical?" asked one of the new Tiberium Troopers, human soldiers with minor cybernetic amplification (little enough that they could blend into regular society by simply taking the armor off) that used a Tiberium death spray to kill it's enemies, replacing the oft-used Black Hand Disciples with flamethrowers within the Marked of Kane, as the Black Hand had, despite accepting more mainline Nod technology, such as stealth, once again, still refused to deploy under command of cyborgs… directly, that is.

"Be silent, Tiberium Trooper TT-371." LEGION said in his first proper humanoid incarnation: A new version of the feared and dreaded Cyborg Commando, terror to GDI forces of the Second Tiberium War. The Cyborg was created from the dead body of Alexa Kovacs, who had uploaded into him a virus that had shut him down for five years, and almost destroyed Kane's plan and even risked the world. _She was brave, stating her thoughts like that,_ LEGION thought, _But in the end, she was human. To err is to be human. A shame… she was… beautiful._

Kane appeared to the side, but he knew that it was simply his perception. Kane was en route on a transport to personally oversee the critical operation. "My child," Kane began, "You _must_ secure the Tacitus. Sister Oxanna and the Black Hand will be late, and I shall arrive with them to claim the Tacitus. You must capture at least one Command Center; there is one in each GDI base, Steel Talon, ZOCOM, and mainline GDI. This will allow you to begin disabling their Firestorm Generators. We must secure the Tacitus, if we cannot, there will be no Ascension."

"As you will it, Kane." LEGION responded, and began organizing his forces. The Awakened were the tough, brutally armed foot soldiers of the Marked of Kane. Clad in black armor, the only remains of their humanity were in two places, one, an area around their belly buttons and two, some visibility of their face. Armed with a mini EMP cannon as a left hand and a particle beam on their right, their superior armor would make them the bane of any foolish GDI soldier. The Deathless were his cybernetic rocket soldiers, donned in grey plating and with two, long shoulder mounted rockets. The only remains of their humanity were the visibility of their faces, and the fact that they still used human hands to fire their launchers, whereas most of the other cyborgs did not use humanoid hands.

The true elites were the Enlightened, powerful cybernetic warriors encased wholly in bone-white armor, armed with an EMP cannon on their left hand, and an improved, supercharged particle beam on their right. While the others were only three fourths as strong as any Zone soldier, he knew the Enlightened would be equals, if not superiors, to the Zone Armored GDI Infantry. Any non-Zone GDI infantryman, barring perhaps one of their commandos or the snipers, would know extreme fear as they were torn apart by the cyborgs, either at range, or in close quarters. While many of the cyborgs lacked human hands, their weapons were modeled with clubbing in mind. An Enlightened could easily shatter a GDI soldier's skull and helmet with one hit.

"Advance and Conquer, in the name of the Prophet!" LEGION ordered. "Remove the Steel Talon outpost. They are superior to us with their mighty walker technology, we cannot let them mobilize such, or the Prophet's plan will be in grave danger."

"Yes, master." Responded each of the designated division leaders of each group. The Awakened formed up into four by five columns, with their moderately-better equipped officer cyborgs in the front and with blood-red markings to signify their superior rank. The Enlightened remained in their squads of three, ready to act as shock support, and would be mostly on-reserve until Zone units arrived. The Deathless would be able to bring any deployed Titians down. Cyborg Reapers; which had been remodeled and improved since the days of CABAL, were now armed with dual chain guns and with secondary rocket launchers, removing the need for LEGION to deploy Attack Bikes and Raider Buggies, which would not help him at all here even with their hit and run abilities due to the tight network of GDI defensive turrets. Avatar warmechs with improved cybernetic pilots marched up as heavy armor, while Specter Artillery vehicles unpacked and began bombardment of the power plants, cutting power off from the first tier of protection.

"They didn't skimp on the defenses, master." explained a Tiberium Trooper, "We will have some delays in the operation…" he cut off, and turned to who was likely his fellow Tiberium Troopers, "In the name of Kane, advance!"

"Vertigo Bombers, target the ZOCOM bunker exits, we cannot let them escape or reinforce any position. Trap the rapid response units under the mountains."

Marching with never ceasing precision, they opened fire when in range, powering down the occasional Wolverine and Titian with their EMP, then proceeding to destroy them with particle beam, Tiberium death spray, and rockets. They marched into the base, and, after a brutal five minutes of combat, captured it, leveling most of the Steel Talons equipment as pilots were rushing to get equipment online or fled as the base fell. Turning east and up the mountain, they advanced into the mainline GDI base, the central piece, and would later proceed to the top of the large, eastern hill, the ZOCOM main base. LEGION could wait for GDI to fall. He advanced with the Enlightened, striking fear into any GDI soldier whom saw him, and he dealt death, even the division of Mammoth Tanks in the central base proving inferior to the power of the Marked of Kane as it took a direct hit from a Rail Gun to down just _one_ Awakened, and they were legion. GDI rounds were mostly absorbed by the Awakeneds' armor, and Cyborg Reapers ripped through the multiple divisions of non-Zone GDI infantry. Despite the obvious superiority, he lost a number of cyborgs as GDI laser fire and rockets, at long last, found their marks. Despite this, victory would be his, he knew it. _GDI was not prepared for the Marked of Kane_._ And now they will be defeated._

-

"God, this can't be happening!" Renteria exclaimed as she saw the cyborgs march into the GDI mainline base and destroy it, capturing the Command Center, while Vertigo Bombers trapped the Rapid Response units underground by bombing their exits. Rex grimaced as he thought of the soldiers trapped underground… possibly dying, buried beneath rubble and alive as death slowly came for them…

An all-call had been sent. McNeil and RAID would arrive first, within twenty minutes. The Ion Cannon was offline, Nod had chosen a well time to sabotage the uplink stations with viruses. Because of that, GDI's only hope was to fight tooth and nail with their normally superior ground forces. But Rex was amazed at the effectiveness of the cyborgs… it was… scary, that such an army could be assembled in secret… and then come out and go toe to toe with some of GDI's best.

The cyborgs then advanced on the last outside base, ZOCOM's secondary base built on the high ground, observing most of the valley, and would soon leave only the guard posts directly outside the Firestorm Defense Walls intact. Zone units gathered as GDI fell back to their still-active defenses, numerous Sonic Emitters and Anti-Aircraft turrets strategically placed. Supporting this was six Battle Bases in a semi-circle outside the Firestorm Defense Walls, equipped with Rail Gun instead of 150 howitzers for anti-tank cannons. If that failed, their last hope of stopping the army outside would be a primary ZOCOM base located within the first Firestorm Barrier, but in front of the second one. It was well fortified, and had a ZOCOM Reclamator Hub and a modified MARV on stand by to deploy at a moment's notice, never mind the good number of GDI soldiers stationed inside, ready to leap out an engage the moment the Firestorm Wall was compromised.

"**Warning: Firestorm Defenses being hacked."**

"WHAT?!" Rex shouted, whirling around as EVA reported it.

"**Nod is using the three Command Centers captured to disable Firestorm Defenses. The outer wall will be down in five minutes, the inner, ten. The wall protecting the building itself and it alone will need to be sabotaged from the outside for Nod to enter."**

On the screen, a woman appeared in Black Hand armor. She took her helmet off, it was Oxanna Kristos. "Rex, know that today the Brotherhood rises from the ashes, and the Black Hand will grip the heart of GDI, and cast you into the pits of Hell where you belong."

Rex turned, and responded, "There will be a day when GDI falls… but it will not be a day of blood and death… but peaceful transition, when the _Brotherhood_ is no more and **Kane** is put where he belongs, scattered across space as nothing more than ash."

With a snarl at the insult, Oxanna cut off.

"**Black Hand forces have arrived. Be advised, they are more advanced then before, all units being equipped with some form of fire, ranging from flame throwers to Dragonfire rockets for their Stealth Tanks. No cyborgs detected within their ranks."**

"Damn it," Renteria said, "That flame is going to nullify the edge of Zone Armor… Director… I'm sorry…"

They could only watch as the Black Hand advanced, cutting a swathe through the Zone units, the flamethrowers burning them alive. From a distance away, Rex spotted two pyramids deploying… and then two Redeemers emerged.

"Nod is… throwing everything they have at us!" Johan shouted, getting hysterical, "We need to get out of here!"

"We need to evacuate the Tacitus," Ahsoka said, she had been at the door, watching the battle unfold, "The moment those generators come down, we need to get it clear at any cost."

"Won't work," Renteria said, "The walls around the facility, except for the door, are lined with Firestorm. That means that even your shiny sword won't cut through it, so the only way in or out is the door… and if the inner Firestorm barrier drops, then there will be no hope of being able to sprint it out."

"I might be able to," Ahsoka said, "But I can't leave you all here…"

"Damn it Ahsoka, the Tacitus is more important than anyone of us." Rex said. _She'd feel like I'd feel about leaving someone behind… she has felt it._

"No," Renteria said, "Even if you could get past, the back is mined anyways. _Very_ well mined… if you didn't step on one on your way out via the back, I'd be court marshalling the minelayers."

"Fine, I'll get it out to the back for a Harrier to pick the Tacitus up, hold the line while it escapes."

"By that point…" Renteria was cut off by the radio.

"General McNeil to Director Rex and General Renteria, RAID forces inbound, ETA, two minutes!"

"Hurry McNeil!" Rex shouted, "The outer Firestorm just went out! Get a Harrier and a team ready when the inner one goes, we need to evacuate the Tacitus pronto!"

-

"All units, advance on the main GDI base and destroy it. No GDI units can be left alive to interfere with claiming the Tacitus once we advance in."

"LEGION," Kane said, appearing in person now, at the forward command post that had been set up near the Tacitus facility, "Our surviving Militias have come together to form one last Strike Force, they will assist in protecting us as we enter ourselves to claim the Tacitus. It will be our greatest challenge, and we will be tested, our mettle against that of GDI's elites and leaders."

LEGION nodded, "I will protect you with my very existence."

-

"General, they're going to get in," Rex finally said, "We need to get ready to stop them and get Ahsoka out with the Tacitus." Ahsoka had rushed out to get something from the built-in armory.

"No, Director, not you." Renteria said, shaking her head, "You're a VIP, the damn director, if anyone is staying out of the combat…"

"Didn't stop me in 2047, did it?" Rex retorted, "Now, how are we going to stop them?"

"I got an answer," Ahsoka said, walking back into the room in a suit of new power armor… but rather than big and bulky, or skintight but thick, like Zone Troopers or Zone Raiders respectively, it was thin and snug to the body, and armored much like a commando's suit. Ahsoka was also holding another suit, but there was not helmet for either suit.

"The _Screaming Eagle_ armor?" Renteria asked, skeptical. "Those suits aren't exactly working well, the sonic derived…"

"It'll work," Rex said, walking over and taking the suit, and heading into the closet, changing into the outfit, putting his belt on over it, as it contained his dual pistol holsters. As he walked out, helmet under his arm, he asked, "So how does this _Screaming Eagle_ stuff work?"

"The idea," Renteria said, "Was to create a sonic soldier… but we were never able to create a sonic wrist launcher or such, and the armor is, really, just a bit more advanced commando armor…"

"But," Ahsoka chimed in, "It was designed with fighting cyborgs in mind. Mitchell wanted the suit to experiment, but you discarded it in favor of Zone Armor, General Renteria."

"Good reason to, _Captain_," Renteria coldly responded, "The _Screaming Eagle_ couldn't stop Tiberium radiation, not unless we tried a sonic field around it or something impossible like that. Zone Armor was cheaper and tougher, and could do everything besides the sonic field, but that's why Raiders carry grenade launchers."

Ahsoka simply tossed the suit to Rex, who caught it.

Rex then said, "Look, General, keep the bigger battle coordinated, direct the remaining forces to do what they can, see what can be done to buy McNeil time. Ahsoka, myself, and the remaining GDI fighters in this building will do what we can to stop Kane if he gets in, so we can repel him and get the Tacitus out."

With that, Rex turned to prepare a bold hold off… one that GDI could not afford to fail.

-

LEGION watched as a MARV came out of the main base's Reclamator Hub. It was different in that it had a fifth Hardpoint, allowing for an extra weapon, but it removed the harvesting system to allow such. LEGION was amused that ZOCOM had taken a leaf out of the Steel Talon's doctrine, trading anti-Tiberium capabilities for extra armor and firepower. The final Battle Base went down, many Zone Raiders and Troopers lying dead across the field, broiled alive inside their armor until they passed out and into death from the heat, or were incinerated by the purifying flame of the Black Hand. The EMP of the Awakened and Enlightened disabled the mighty MARV, and focused fire from all the Nod forces brought it down, wasting it into nothing, but it still took some time, as the armor was not electric but in metal. LEGION observed the carnage… as he walked forward, he saw one of the Zone Raiders was still moving, near death, her armor busted and broken… and she was trailing blood out of the slashes and holes in it. He aimed at her heart as she rolled over, and shot her without hesitation. Her head fell back and she was now sporting a crater in her chest half the size of a baseball, and smoke rose out of the blackened and charred armor and flesh. _That was a mercy,_ LEGION decided, _It spared her the pain of slow death._

"Dang, those Marked of Kane types are quick," commented a Militant on an open channel, "Come on boys, in the name of Kane, let's kill some GDI while there's some left!"

Nod militia forces, supported with another Redeemer, came up. Something suddenly pinged on the radar as the last Firestorm barrier came down, the GDI main base burning…

"Enlightened Squad V-19, form up, we go for the Tacitus." LEGION ordered, "All others, delay the GDI Interlopers under McNeil, prevent them from interfering at all costs."

"It is time," Kane said as they boarded a Reckoner APC, "Bothers, Sisters, this is our test, the test of faith that we cannot fail. Do not fear death, for should you fall, your sacrifice will be remembered across the millennium. PEACE, THROUGH, POWER!"

The Reckoner came to a halt just outside the building. A Saboteur immediately got to work, and the door opened… and a hailstorm of ammunition rained out, taking down a pair of Enlightened. A Harrier Gunship attempted to fly in, but the five Deathless shot it down with their ten rockets.

-

-

"They're coming in for the Tacitus itself; I want everyone ready for a counter-insertion! McNeil, get that gunship ready! Lil'un, get ready to evac the Tacitus once we've got a clear shot!" Rex shouted, grabbing his dual pistols and putting his clone trooper helmet on.

Once Kane was into the facility, it would be a straight shot to the Tacitus barring GDI soldiers slowing him down with blood, rifles, and courage. GDI had to hold as long as possible. McNeil's RAID units were making progress, but the sheer numbers and power of the combined Nod forces were blunting his one-side offensive. Mitchell was coming in from the east with a Mammoth Mark 2.5 prototype and numberless Titians, Wolverines, and more. If they could hold until Mitchell arrived, Nod would be sandwiched, and even if they got past them, they wouldn't be able to escape. Either that or McNeil's RAID units had to get to the Tacitus building and get it to a Gunship for evacuation, then Ahsoka could sprint out and get the Tacitus to safety, then rejoin the defense. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to fight and carry the Tacitus due to it's size and power, so they had to clear her a path. The GDI soldiers within had set up as many barricades and fashioned as much cover as they could, but it would be limited. Rex nodded to Sarah, who was taking cover next to him. _It's all or nothing,_ _and we both know it._ The door buzzed open… and when light shone in, GDI opened fire. Ahsoka lit her lightsaber and parried the initial particle beams blasts, knocking them back at the attackers. Rex saw the wreckage of the Gunship come flaming down to earth… _No… now we can't evacuate…_

"Come on you _clankers!_" Rex shouted to distract himself from such negative thoughts, pouring his dual-pistols' clips into the incoming hordes. Reminiscent of Super Battle Droids, the bone-white cyborgs marched it, firing. It reminded him of Teth… _lost so many there… and now it might happen again… at least this time we aren't taking bullets for some jumped up gangster. _They fell one by one as the Zone Troopers, Raiders, and GDI Riflemen within used everything they had, bringing many of the Enlightened down and stopping that advance. Behind them came in three figures, escorting by more Enlightened and Confessors… it was down to Ahsoka, Rex, Sarah, and a few other GDI soldiers who had survived the onslaught of Enlightened Cyborgs to fight the three Nod leaders _and_ their elite guards.

The few surviving GDI forces fell back as Ahsoka leapt forward, deflecting particle beams back with her lightsaber. They shut the door as Ahsoka came back in, and now they were down to the Tacitus room itself, a thin door between them and Kane. The wreckage they had hauled in was stacked against the door as fast as possible.

"Rex!" Kane shouted through the door, "Surrender the Tacitus, do not waste any more blood where none need be shed!"

"You'll have to come and _get it_!" Rex shouted back, "You're days of butchery are _done!_ Even if you come for us, you'll only regret it!"

"So be it, _Director_. LEGION?"

The door was suddenly blown into atoms, as was the wreckage, and a hulking Cyborg Commando came in, reminiscent to Rex like General Grievous, except taller, heavier in build, and with different armament. Kane behind the commando, and next to him, Oxanna, armed with a flamethrower, and a group of Confessors came in behind them.

Kane pulled out a silver tube, and a red lightsaber ignited. Ahsoka's eyes widened, and she rushed him. The cyborg commando, LEGION, advanced on Rex, while Sarah and Oxanna, knocking each other's weapons away from each other, began fist fighting, using every trick in the book, Sarah even yanking Oxanna's helmet off. The Confessors and GDI soldiers began fighting each other, and three duels of fate began.

-

Ahsoka blocked Kane's lightsaber, and responded with a brutal flurry of her own, Kane barely blocking the fierce, predatory blows. _He might have a lightsaber, but he is not a Jedi!_ Ahsoka attempted to hurl him into the wall with the Force, but the exertion of energy had _no effect_. This was vastly different from last time… She realized then how old Kane truly was… he had been caught off guard last time… but now, he was fully prepared to face her. It was going to be a fight of skill, not Force powers.

A GDI soldier was hurled at her by an Enlightened; Ahsoka ducked and with a Force push, shoved the Enlightened into another one, causing both to be destroyed as the second fired its particle cannon at the worst moment possible. Kane came at her, and she barely blocked the blow, which could of wrecked her legs.

One minute into their duel, Ahsoka was impressed at Kane's abilities, she parried his blows and he hers. They were deadlocked, a stalemate.

-

LEGION looked down at Rex, who had managed to disable the combat systems, that is, his two wrist-mounted guns. He was impressed at the human, but now would be the time where human weakness would be highlighted. He picked a struggling Rex up, and as he attempted to hurl him towards a wall, he felt a sonic explosion bounce off of his backside; the last Zone Raider had shot him in the back. _How rude._ He turned and advanced on her, but a couple ricochets off of his back reminded him his job was to face Rex. He fired, but Rex dodged the blast, which flew past him and hit a Black Hand Disciple in the back, causing him to explode as his flamethrower's fuel tanks exploding, the purifying flame taking out most of the remaining Black Hand soldiers.

-

As LEGION bore down on him and the flames died out, his pistol out of ammo, Rex activated his gauntlets. The _Screaming Eagle_ power armor, designed to allow common soldiers the ability to engage cyborgs face to face, was designed with energy gauntlets to allow them to block and punch cyborgs… or Scrin super soldiers. LEGION's first punch was blocked as the energy field created by the gauntlets absorbed the attack, Rex then punched LEGION, and was satisfied to hear electricity flailing in surprise. Rex then blocked another series of blows, and began to fall back._ My only hope is to hold out long enough for the others to give me some help… I can't beat him unless I can get help from Sarah or Ahsoka. At least I can last long enough for that to happen with this new armor!_

-

Sarah activated one of her shoulder-mounted rocket launchers as she landed, sending a missile flying towards Oxanna. Oxanna was blown back as it hit the wall she was next to, and Sarah bore down on the Nod woman. A sudden kick to her gut sent her back several feet, and Oxanna attempted to leap onto her. Getting up and pushing her off, Sarah began to trade blows with Oxanna, whose Black Hand armor was amazingly capable of going toe-to-toe with Zone Armor. Oxanna got under Sarah's guard, hitting her in the stomach and knocking the wind out of her.

Oxanna advanced on her menacingly, and mocked, "Papa, where is mama? Mama is going to be six feet _under!_"

"You leave him OUT OF THIS!" Sarah shouted, using a backward summersault to the wall, putting her feet onto it, and activating her jump jet. She launched directly into Oxanna, who, surprised, was knocking into the wall. Sarah was satisfied to hear something crack loudly in Oxanna's back.

-

Kane looked at Ahsoka and her impressive skills. "Cease, child, you have another purpose!" _She cannot die yet, she has to survive this battle… why did GDI bring her here… when was it discovered she can translate the Tacitus?_

"Yeah?" Ahsoka retorted, breathing heavily, "Well why don't you let GDI protect the Earth against the Scrin then? Or maybe Tiberium before it _wipes everyone out_!" She matched that with a brutal kick, knocking the wind out of Kane and sending him back and knocking his lightsaber out of his hand. He recovered instantly, and rushed in, grabbing her wrist and knocking her lightsaber out of her hand. "Don't you understand, you little _girl_? If I did not enhance you with Tiberium, you would have fallen against the Visitors, and Earth would have fallen with the Marked of Kane delayed in their awakening! As the planet owes you thanks for saving them, they owe _me_ thanks for allowing such to happen!"

Ahsoka was shocked for that key, critical second and with a heavy, gauntlet augmented punch, Kane sent Ahsoka flying into the control room window. She fell down back to ground level, panting, bleeding across her body from the shattered glass getting through the small, vulnerable spots in the armor, and she was on her knees.

-

Ahsoka looked up as Kane advanced with the lightsaber… she called her own to herself, but Kane kicked it away, sending it flying to the wall, where it lodged itself into a broken vent.

However, Ahsoka had one last trick up her sleeve… Kane had several Tiberium crystals concealed within his robes… calling on the energy from those, she was able to blast Kane back with a burst of lightning. _He might be immune to a push, but he's still flesh and blood!_

Kane was subdued from the surprise burst of electricity, and LEGION disengaged Rex, rushing at Ahsoka, while Oxanna and a pair of Confessors (now weaponless) engaged both Rex and Sarah, and instantly on the defensive as the two, trying to get past them, fought aggressively, one of the Confessors getting his neck snapped by Sarah punching him there, his head lolling to the side as he collapsed.

Ahsoka called her lightsaber back, dodging a plasma blast from LEGION and then deflecting others back, melting a part of the cyborg's armor. LEGION then pulled something off of his hip… but it was not a lightsaber… he attached it to his wrists… or what were wrists, and then the hands began to glow…

"Think a fancy set of energy gauntlets are gonna help?" Ahsoka asked challengingly.

"More than sufficient to defeat you, GDI pig-dog."

"Seriously?" Ahsoka asked as the first block was made by LEGION as she went for a uppercut swing, "You use the same lousy one-liners as the militants?"

LEGION swept his legs under Ahsoka, knocking her to the floor. "Unfortunately, I have yet to upload proper taunts. How about a _elite bred dog_ or _political thrall_?"

"Really," Ahsoka responded as she tired, trying to keep it out of her voice, "That's not polite to say…"

Her arms began to scream for rest as she parried LEGION's brutal assault, time blending together. She managed to sever the wrist generators off, denying LEGION the ability to parry, but his armor was made to resist lightsaber cuts. As one of her cuts disrupted some electronics within LEGION, she took the change to hurl him back with the Force as he'd have no time to respond, creating a massive crater in the wall as he went flying into it, the wall cracking into the crater. But as she did that, Kane awoke, knocking the lightsaber out of her hand and holding his own to her throat, and then pressed something to her back… electricity shot through her, stunning her and leaving her defenseless. Kane deactivated his lightsaber as she collapsed forward, her neck a mere millimeter from being severed, her throat slightly singed from the heat alone.

"Sleep," Kane whispered as she struggled to recover, "It is not time…"

He then injected something into her neck, and she lost consciousness before she could even realize she had been sedated.

-

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Rex shouted, sending Oxanna flying back with an enraged punch, Rex grabbed one of the discarded pistols and shot at Kane, getting five shots off, all of them being intercepted by timely blocks of his lightsaber. Rex got one more shot off, hitting Kane's wrist. The lightsaber went spinning into the control room, severing the controls in half. Emergency lighting activated. Rex rushed Kane, attacking him and slamming him into the wall.

-

From behind, Sarah saw LEGION take aim at Rex as he engaged Kane in melee combat with an effectiveness thought impossible. She jump jetted at LEGION, barreling into the Cyborg, her armor cracking from the pressure, and knocking the Cyborg to the ground. Leaping away and taking a dead GDI soldier's GD-2 rifle, she shot Oxanna several times. Oxanna had a look of surprise as she put a hand to her smoking heart… and blood came out of it, staining her gauntlet as she pulled it back to look. Her mouth dropped, as she looked down, surprised, then looked to Kane… over the din of battle, her last words were audible:

"I have… failed… Kane… forgive… me…"

With that, she collapsed, taking her last breathes. Kane punched Rex in the face, knocking him backwards, and turned, kneeling next to her, whispering something inaudible.

And thus, Oxanna Kristos, now leader of the Black Hand, and former (alleged) lover of Anton Slavik, Nod general and leader of the Black Hand during the Second Tiberium War, met with death and justice.

Sarah then tried to turn her rifle towards LEGION, but a blast of plasma destroyed the GD-2 Rifle.

--

Rex and Sarah, weaponless save for their powered armor, stood together, the last line of defense for the Tacitus. LEGION advanced, Rex parrying right hand blows while Sarah parried left. They were both at their limits, but they fought on. Swiftly, they overwhelmed LEGION together, anticipating each other's moves and supplementing them with their own, and steadily forced LEGION back. Zone Armor and experimental GDI armor proved to be an even match in combination against the highly advanced Cyborg. Suddenly, LEGION smacked Sarah away, knocking her into the wall, cracking it, and likely wounding her considerably.

"Sarah!" Rex shouted, instantly on the offensive to avenge her. He was then knocked back too, and hit the wall hard.

-

Sarah's ears rang, she heard her heart beating so loud it was deafening, and her helmet had come off, the seals broken by the last hit. Her entire body screamed in pain as war wounds, her 'reward' for leaving a Scrin Eradicator Hexapod vulnerable to GDI assault, roared open, or so it felt. Kane pulled out a hang gun and a small device, likely an electric taser, as Rex got up and rushed LEGION, fighting like a madman. The last surviving non-leader in the battle, a Confessor, aimed at Rex's back with his rifle as Kane watched, turning towards the Confessor as if confused… LEGION was strained; the cybernetics cracking and sparking with electricity as the power gauntlet's energy surged through…

She pushed herself up, and rushed forward. The Confessor pulled the trigger… time seemed to slow as she jumped at the Confessor. Kane shouted something she couldn't hear… but she felt it: A bullet went right through her heart, lodging itself there, and she continued her jump, skidding across the floor and hitting the wall next to the door…

Her lungs felt as if fires burned within, and she felt her entire body beginning to spasm as blood was cut off, and while her lungs still felt on fire, her bones and skin seemed to freeze. She hyperventilated, seeing Rex turn around, surprised. It all felt as if it was in slow motion… Rex's jaw dropped as he saw her, words forming at his mouth. _No Rex, don't run over here…_ Sarah thought desperately, _you can't save me this time… don't let this be in vain…_

"I…" she croaked, her throat on fire, or so she thought, "I love you…"

And with that, her head fell back onto the floor, and knew nothing more.

-

Rex roared, an animal roar that belonged only to a man who had his whole life ripped out from under him, his heart pulled out by an acidic hand, his very eyes stained with an image that could haunt him for centuries… he whirled around again.

He then punched LEGION in the face, breaking the cyborg Commando's face plate, as well as his own right hand. He ignored that, like a wolverine enraged, he began to rush at LEGION, determined to rip the cyborg limb from limb if it was the last thing he did. Primal rage was unleashed, and LEGION learned fast why the outnumbered living could defeat hordes of machines. Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the back, an electric touch. Another hit him, bringing him down to his knees as he struggled to resist, LEGION picked him up by his throat, tightening his grip.

"Hold, LEGION, do not kill him." Kane said. He put a gun to Rex's head. Behind them, the Confessor who had nearly shot Rex in the back lay dead with a smoking hole in his chest, obscuring the Nod symbol on the chest plate. Rex could smell that Kane had recently used the pistol… on kill… and the gun was now on stun… even though Kane had already subdued Rex with a taser.

"Know this, Rex," Kane said, "It was _I_ who arranged for you to be brought to Earth, with the Chronosphere. What brought you here was no accident; I have broken the Chronoshpere's secrets… at least, just enough to avoid bringing in a giant army from time, but not enough to remove the… chronovortex effect. Regardless, with it, I brought you to Earth, so you could unite GDI during the Visitor's visitation. The world hung in the balance; thousands of years of work nearly ruined by something I did not foresee, should have foreseen; human nature. It was you who brought about the end of the Third Tiberium War and prevented those thousands of years from being wasted. Clone you may be, but you have transcended such simple beginnings." Kane turned away, and grabbed the Tacitus, holding it in his left hand. "Ahsoka was not one I anticipated, but she became an important part of the plan. I ordered her to be captured so she could become what the Visitors would believe to be an incarnation of their goddess, to distract them. Alexa Kovacs put the whole world at risk by sabotaging LEGION, if not for GDI's success against the Visitors… oh, tell General Mitchell that I am impressed with his Steel Talons, only LEGION has, so far, been able to defeat them, and then with great difficulty. They truly are a force worthy to protect the planet."

Rex was reassured somewhat that it took a Nod super-genius-computer that probably had the brains of any number of dead generals of history to feed it tactics, just to be able to match the Talons, but he snarled back, "What are you waiting for? The Talons are on their way, and even LEGION and your precious Cyborgs can't match the full might of the Steel Talons!"

"No," Kane said, nodding, "We cannot, at least, not today. However… I must warn you, the Visitors will return, and their vengeance will be one thousand fold. You must prepare GDI for this. I give you this warning as if humanity is wiped off the map, our evolution as a species and ascension cannot happen. Sleep well. I wish that I did not have to kill Sarah… she was as brave as she was beautiful." He aimed at Rex's face… but then he pulled out another needle, and injected Rex with the same poison that had taken Ahsoka down… he collapsed, losing consciousness.

But as he did… he realized: _We failed…_

-

Kane walked away, Tacitus in hand. He looked up and saw Renteria, shocked at what she had just learned… the last survivor whom was not meant to survive. "Kill her. Her ears are not worthy to hear what she just heard."

LEGION jumped in, and while Renteria attempted valiantly to defend herself with her last weapon, a GD-2 rifle, she was dead within a minute, her neck being snapped as LEGION used the Cyborg Commando's superior strength. As that happened, Kane walked up to Sarah's body. He kneeled, running his fingers through her hair.

"A pity that such beauty, skill, and bravery must be lost in these conflicts…" He paused, then looked up as inspiration hit him, "LEGION, take her body. Have one of the Enlightened carry Sister Oxanna. Order the Awakened to gather the rest of our downed forces if possible, we leave. The Steel Talons' new technological advances allow them to win still, as their technology is no longer modified Second Tiberium War technology… no, it is worthy for a Fourth Tiberium War."

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"General Mitchell!" McNeil shouted, "God damn I'm glad to see you! They've taken the Tacitus, and I think they might of killed Rex! By God it's the whole friggen Brotherhood!"

"THAT DOES IT!" Mitchell shouted at the top of his lungs, enraged, his blood boiling and his heart pumping, "All Talon units, I want those Nod scum _**GROUNDED AND POUNDED! NO SURVIVORS, NO MERCY! NO PRISONERS! I DON'T CARE IF THEY SURRENDER; NO ONE LEAVES THIS ROCK ALIVE!**_"

He put the Mammoth Mark 2.5 to full throttle, and aimed, blasting the retreating Nod units away with the Mammoth's quad Rail Guns, leaving massive craters across the Nod forces and blasting the ground up even more. He kept up pursuit, the Steel Talons forcing Nod on the run, and killing any stragglers they could. Nod had shown GDI no mercy… and now GDI would show Nod none. It was a battle as old as GDI itself… fought with no mercy, no thought of quarter, a bloodlust that could only be stopped by a greater common enemy… but it was not such a time. GDI's vengeance was fueled by the loss of so many friends… Nod could not withstand it; they ran, fleeing the battle.

As Nod entered transports and fled, the new subterranean Reckoner APCs diving below where GDI couldn't hit them. Mitchell snarled as he blasted a straggler APC as it burrowed, blowing it and it's occupants to hell. _Burn down there you bastards, I'll be coming for your buddies soon enough._

-

**Two Days Later**

**Partially reconstructed GDI Base**

**Mount Cheyenne, Canada**

**Blue Zone B-16**

Rex groaned as he woke up… as if from a nightmare.

"Daddy…" asked a small, scared voice… _Coric…_

Rex groaned as he pulled himself up. He was in a medical bay… and he was bandaged almost entirely… almost mummy like.

"Coric?" Rex asked, relieved he was alright.

"Where's mama?"

Rex paused, glancing around, hoping desperately to see Sarah… but he saw only the other wounded survivors… there were so few…

"Rex…" said a voice… it was Mitchell… and he was unusually sober. Next to him was Ahsoka, who was in crutches… she also looked dead serious… Coric didn't see her; he was looking at Rex, eyes wide, almost tearing. "I… have some very bad news."

-

**One Day Later**

**9:00 PM Local Time**

Rex regained the ability to walk, but he wouldn't be able to fight anytime soon… McNeil and Mitchell had already left, leading a brutal and horrifying GDI counter attack of previously unknown proportions. Anything Nod was assaulted with force unseen since the Third Tiberium War, exceeding its brutality, even. GDI had been bruised, battered, and bloodied, but it came out swinging, and had demolished anything Nod it saw with a combination of superior armor, firepower, and the Ion Cannon. It was a vengeance that had put any Nod survivors underground, and sympathizers were silent, out of fear that GDI would retaliate. The media had been silent on the matter as well… only a minor report was made… but people _knew_ what had happened. It wasn't a grand announcement… but a quiet acknowledgement… GDI had taken every security measure they could, but the attack had been too well orchestrated by a mind more advanced then anything GDI had seen before…

GDI had recovered intelligence from the Nod wreckage in the battle that Mitchell hadn't managed to obliterate… LEGION, Kane's _personal_ tactical AI, powerful enough even the new EVA unit model coming out paled in comparison, had been behind much over the last two decades… his crimes were, fittingly, legion. He was behind the Great Rio Uprising, which had sparked many of the militant forces forming and joining Nod. He had stolen Nod's stealth technology back, thwarting with luck and skill the Steel Talons where Nod could not have won otherwise. He defeated the anti-Kane Black Hand, bringing it back into the fold… LEGION had destroyed much of Australia by purposely setting off the Liquid Tiberium Facility that the Steel Talons guarded… then many years later, he stole GDI Ion Cannon plans from Johannesburg and raided the GDI treasury. He was behind the defeat of ZOCOM in Central Africa… and it was revealed that Nod's general, Kilian Qatar, had been framed for the crimes against Kane… by LEGION, misguided by a Nod abbess, Alexa Kovacs. Worse, it was LEGION who nearly claimed the Tacitus from Renteria in China, shortly after the Battle of Berne. And just now… he had destroyed a GDI Siberian garrison and taken the Tacitus back, after wasting GDI's best soldiers.

Rex was horrified as so much was made clear… so much understanding had been gained… He, and GDI in general, had been defeated by a computer… one with unimagined tactical aptitude… and Kane was likely the only one who knew how to build such.

General Granger had arrived that day… and ZOCOM had a new general, Locke, who was promoted from Commander to fill that critical duty. A lot of promotions had happened the last three days as the four GDI generals worked to restore the GDI chain of command. Ahsoka had been upped to a Commander out of necessity. She didn't like it, but she accepted it.

Rex and General Granger were standing on one of the cliff sides… the stars and moon were out that night, mournfully._ They should be mournful,_ Rex thought, then his hands began to shake, _She's gone… I … I can't believe she's gone… taken away right in front of me…_ They didn't even have her body to bury, Kane had decided to take _that_ away too… it was like salt poured on a massive, open, bleeding wound. Rex would have given anything then to have Kane under his power, to be able to make Kane _feel_ what Rex felt.

"You know, Jack," Rex said, his voice strained and cracked, using General Granger's first name, a habit that had come out after Rex and Sarah were married, "They say that there's a star in the sky for every beautiful woman who's beauty transcended mortal ground…"

A star began to twinkle… one not there before. Granger gave a sad smile as he looked at it…

"I knew this day would come," Granger finally said, "I thought, just perhaps, with the Third Tiberium War over I wouldn't face such a time… but I was wrong… so wrong…" he began to cry, and Rex put a hand on his shoulder… he had done all his crying already… but tears still welled up within him. He would have given anything to be out there, hunting Kane down… but after such a strike, Kane had fled and vanished, only Nod stragglers had been sighted, as well as one, small cyborg base which was promptly destroyed in a terrifying Steel Talons offensive.

"I never thought that we would be… separated like this." Rex finally said… "When she was nearly killed at Berne, I thought that I might never truly love, if I hadn't acknowledged the love I had for her… I thought it then to be a crush, one of those silly things of the high school I never went to… but after Berne… that was when I realized I _did_ love her, and I that it wasn't just some crush, it was real feeling…"

"She loved you too… just before Ground Zero; she told me her feelings on you. When she mentioned something about your back round, things began to click. Rex, even if you were a clone made to enslave trillions under the bootleg of a tyrannical galactic empire, I'm still glad to have you as a Son-in-Law. I'm proud of you… and I'm proud of Sarah. She told me, just before she had been sent to Sarajevo for ZOCOM's assault, that if she had to die early… fighting to spare the innocent of what she went through was right was the best way to do it."

Rex nodded, and looked to the sky. _One day… one day…_

-

Ahsoka looked at her lightsaber… Kane had not taken it from the facility, leaving it for her to reclaim… She shook that out of her head, she had other things to worry about… Rex.

She got up from where she was sitting, slipping the crutches (_oh how I hate these things…_), leaving the cabin that Rex and, formerly, Sarah lived in. Coric was sound asleep, fortunately, and Ahsoka knew she'd be able to sense if he woke up and slip out in time.

She saw Rex and General Granger standing, looking out at the stars… Granger then said something to Rex, and left, leaving him to stand there.

"Rex?" Ahsoka asked as she moved close enough that he could hear.

Rex turned… and for the first time, she could properly see how badly Rex had been affected… _He's had his whole life blown out from under him… another tally to a list too long to count… and it's right at the top._

"How…" she hesitated, unsure of how to put it without sounding… arrogant, perhaps. Or perhaps it was that she didn't want to use the standard question. She wasn't sure. "Are you… alright?"

"Not really," Rex answered, sighing.

"You want me to give the kind of talk you'd expect from a old Jedi, or should I just leave you to your peace?" _Not that I could see myself doing Yoda's kind of advice… especially with loss… I'm a fighter, a scrapper, not a philosopher… should I be both though? A Jedi is supposed to be a peacekeeper… maybe I didn't get the full education, sure, but… have I really deviated that far away? Almost… dark side._ That was a worrisome thought… but made haunting sense. She pushed it away however, _No, I'm not going dark…_

Rex gave her a look, perhaps like he had a laugh, but just couldn't laugh… and she sensed something similar from Rex too… emotions suppressed by grief… _Stang, shouldn't of tried to crack that joke… who am I kidding, I don't know what he's going through._

"I'll… be fine." Rex finally said, "I just… need some time…" then he just stopped and, limping, came towards her, putting his arms around her, tears coming down his cheeks. Ahsoka collapsed from the sudden pressure, landing backwards as if tackled, but she didn't comment, even as some pain shot up from her legs. She tapped his back lightly… uncertainly. _I really don't know how to comfort him… I've never been in a situation like he's in now…_

-

**One Week Later**

**Steel Talon Main Base & HQ**

**Hammerfest, Norway**

**Blue Zone B-1**

Mitchell, anger still seething within, sighed as no new Nod presences were detected by SkySentry's overload-risking search. He had advocated, and got permission, for as brutal assault as humanly possible, but still nothing. GDI had lost its key advantage over Tiberium… the Tacitus. He pulled up an image from a Red Zone… Tiberium was spreading rapidly, and he could see a ZOCOM units efforts, previously highly effective, failing fast, and Tiberium was fast becoming only delayed, even spreading in some areas already…

"It's like a _Firestorm_…" Mitchell said, the word playing in his head as he enunciated his words slowly, letting them sink in… "A _firestorm…_ and twilight comes… and it'll be dusk soon…"

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"'And in a loud voice he cries, 'Lazarus, come forth!' and Lazarus did indeed arise from the grave…'"

Kane looked into her eyes, and said, "Welcome back to the land of the living;… my child. Death's claim is delayed… live once again… your bravery is not to be so easily discarded, for you will be needed… yes… your bravery will need to be called upon."

-

_**And thus the story of the Third Tiberium War is recorded. The Tacitus was in Kane's hands, but GDI still stood strong as they could after such, and showed no indication of falling… to Nod, at least. Rex would continue to lead GDI, even as things began to fall to hell from Tiberium. Scrin skirmish sorties continued, but never with the capability to threatened GDI properly… but they were a threat that ZOCOM could now ill-afford to deal with, and the Steel Talons were also unable to, for they had to be transferred to Blue Zone security despite objections by the GDI generals. In response to this and the loss of the Tacitus, the Firestorm Taskforce was reformed once more, but not for a specific series of battles or a campaign against a specific target as it had in the Firestorm Crisis's… but to safeguard the planet against both the Scrin, and worse to come. Drawing from where it could, the Taskforce supplemented new and visible weaknesses in GDI, and prepared for the worst that was coming. Chosen to lead this new, secret, **_**elite**_** GDI division was Ahsoka Tano. Despite being non-human and only a commander, she was chosen to lead it, as she was one of the top GDI fighters and had a clear idea of what can be done to ensure the development Earth's technology to new heights, and to prepare for the worst, when, at long last, the Scrin returned.**_

_**But, the loss of many good soldiers affected GDI drastically; the shortage of manpower would, while offset somewhat by the surprising effectiveness of the Firestorm Taskforce and it's preparation of GDI, weaken the Global Defense Initiative when the human race's extinction once more began not only grim potential… but likely to new, dramatic heights… it was almost certain that humanity as it was would cease to exist.**_

_**But, at the very day when all seemed bleak, like it was truly humanity's, and quite easily, Earth's twilight, a dusk hour… something happened. While the full story is still being located, **_**this**_** has been confirmed**_**,**_** and it shall now be shared it to you. Read it well, for it is the prologue to the Dusk.**_


	25. Epilouge of Today, Prolouge of Tomorrow

**Airspace over Manchester, United Kingdom**

**Red Zone… N/A, too many Red Zones to even bother marking.**

**July 24****th****, 2062 Common Era**

Manchester was a sight of hell… but it was one of eight surviving cities, protected, albeit weakly, from Tiberium using the power of Firestorm Defenses, the only thing that could truly delay Tiberium… but could not destroy it. A Harrier Gunship, escorted by four Orcas, flew towards the town as Ion Storms raged, making this flight perilous indeed… but it was the only way. If there was one word that could describe the sight… it was Hell. If there was one phrase to describe humanity's state… it was 'we're fucked'.

The convoy flew in closer, lightning blasting around, and the malevolent glow of Tiberium shining stronger as the Orcas' searchlights checked for potential living threats on the ground.

"Oscar Six to Firestorm Command, package en route."

"**Identify confirmed. Opening entry hole at 0200."**

"Got it, Oscar Six inbound."

A small gap in the Firestorm Defense opened, and the convoy flew in. A bolt of Ion Lightning struck the top of the protective bubble, and rushed down across it, the tail of the rear Orca almost being fried as it came down. Even inside the Firestorm, Tiberium was destroying the city from below: A giant crystalline Tiberium spire was growing on the side of former apartment buildings; marked off by GDI fences… it was a picture of Armageddon. The Liquid Tiberium Explosion at Temple Prime in the Third Tiberium War was commonly agreed by the scientific community to be the cause… and it was. Because of that fact, Oscar Six was carrying the most ironic cargo in the face of such doom… but it was potentially humanity's last hope.

"**Proceed as directed."**

They arrived at the last GDI Administration Center… but the GDI symbol was coated in Tiberium, and couldn't be removed… the city was stricken, diseased, sick… yet all knew that it was worse else where.

"**Maintain approach speed."**

The convoy landed on the GDI administration building's helipad, and a black robed man was escorted inside by a pair of angry Zone Troopers. They rode down an elevator…

"**Security Access Granted."** The three stepped off the elevator and down the hallway…

Within the GDI Council Chambers, the entire GDI Council had gathered, as had every GDI General, and every GDI leader of any power. Bickering was occurring as they argued what to do, Rex's often-effective silencing overridden, as the treasurer, Stark, and Mitchell, leader of the Steel Talons, argued over how the Steel Talons had caused it to happened, as McNeil and the Ecology councilor argued on what was sounding like accusations towards the Forgotten, McNeil defending them. Rex was embroiled in his own argument with a dozen people at once, who were calling him a fine soldier, but a failure of a scientist… which was true, but the context was wrong. Despite his best attempts, he couldn't regain order.

"**The State of the Planet is deteriorating!"** EVA shouted, desperately trying to calm the situation and aid Rex. **"Tiberium infestation has reached critical levels!"**

The man who had arrived walked down the corridor by a GDI logo on the wall, the two Zone Troopers' Rail Guns pointed at his back… but the safeties were on.

"**Package is on site."** EVA registered as the doors opened, the entire council was silent, stuffing papers into folders and shutting them. There was silence so deep you could hear a pin drop as the man revealed himself to the council, taking the hood off of his deep black cloak.

Ten years to the day, even to the _second_, after he had stolen the Tacitus from GDI… _**Kane**_ had come before them… _willingly_.

"Brothers," Kane said; looking at Rex and the GDI Generals, "Sisters," he looked at the feminine members of the council, "I have a proposition."

With that, he pulled out the Tacitus, at the very same second, ten years ago; he took it from its pedestal in the GDI Mount Cheyenne laboratory. The entire council blinked, readjusting glasses, looking dead surprised… the Tacitus was no longer unstable, in fact, it was perfectly intact… like it had been restored.

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_**The End**_

_**To be honest, my dear readers; writing this was a unique challenge. I had a general plotline, which sped it up considerably, and I liked the subject. However, my real challenge was the in-between. The second installment for the Cloned Tiberium series, **_**Cloned Tiberium: Tiberian Dusk**_** will be put out a few days after C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight is released by EA (Approximately ten days as of 3/5/10). All that follows is author's notes and some notes on changes to the C&C Arsenal. Please do not read on unless you wish to. But before I do that, I must first list out the thanks.**_

**_Thanks to Westwood for creating the Command and Conquer universe to begin with._**

**_Thanks to Joe Kucan for playing the Bald Badass known only as Kane to us mortals._**

**_Thanks to those who made a good game out of C&C 3 (I give credit where it is due, EA bashers.)_**

**_Thanks to the reveiwers and readers._**

**_And well, thanks to anyone who deserves it and I failed to mention._**

**_Begining the List of Notes:_**

_**Regarding the end deaths…**_

_**Sarah Granger: With Sarah, I knew, from the get go, that her fate was to die. I'm sorry, but General Granger having a daughter who's a Zone Raider, and one of the top ones, never mind later on having her be a sole survivor of LEGION **_**and**_**the Legendary Insurgent's counter attack, never mind taking on an **_ERADICATOR HEXAPOD_** on and living? I'm sorry, but LEGION (and, in a sense, us C&C players) were just too damn good, and she had too long of a survival streak, and a red shirt Lieutenant wouldn't work to remind the danger (come on, we all know Red Shirts when we see 'em). I did my best to give her the epic send-off though, a fitting end, in my opinion. Didn't make it any easier to write, though. The toughest challenge of an author is knowing when you have to kill a favorite character off for the story, and doing it right.**_

_**General Renteria: Originally she was supposed to live, but then I decided… No, she dies. I'm sorry, but she would of just had a lot of info, info she was not privy to about Rex and Ahsoka, blown in her face… Kane didn't want witnesses beyond Rex and Ahsoka. However, her death does open up an explanation of why ZOCOM would fail between this and Tiberian Twilight, hence the need for Kane to come with the TCN.**_

_**Oxanna Kristos: I know, she was Anton Slavik's aide and shouldn't of died… well, she needed closure, and I gave her as epic an end as possible… besides, I figure that being with Slavik would fit her ;)**_

_**Regarding other characters…**_

_**Nick Seymour "Havoc" Parker: On him, besides as a dues ex machina and a source of comedy, I have only this to say: Coulda done it left handed.**_

_**McNeil: What can I say, the Badass of C&C Tiberian Sun needed to be in here. RAID is canonical, even if the FPS game **__Tiberium__** was cancelled by EA for 'low quality' (my ass). McNeil is, really, likely to come in and out and be involved with RAID when it is used.**_

_**Joshua "Mitch" Mitchell: The leader of the Steel Talons was **_**the**_** reason for Rex and Ahsoka joining GDI, he found them, as I mentioned back in Chapter One, after the Chonosphere was overused. His role was pretty important, but hey, he was also a great source of comedy at times (cough, him giving sex advice to Rex, cough). The Mammoth Mark 2.5 is the Steel Talon epic unit in my vision for C&C. Probably my favorite GDI General to write out.**_

_**Jack Granger: Honestly, I have trouble using him, but he was important for the GDI campaign, so he regularly came into play. I did, however, enjoy writing him, if not as much as Mitchell, but then again, I'm biased to Steel Talons :D (though those hot, er, effective Zone Raiders are luring me over…)**_

_**Misc. Character Notes:**_

_**Park (Zone Raider): Didn't know she was the poster girl for the Zone Raiders, other wise I might of never made Sarah Granger as a character. Ironic, eh?**_

_**McCarthy: Based him, initially, off of a kid I know in band. What can I say, I needed a face for the GDI Riflemen.**_

_**Stevenson and Conrad (ConYard Operator): Those two were pretty much the player's Base Construction interface in story format.**_

_**The Commandos of GDI: Higgins, Conrad, Fullerton, nice group of 'em. Weren't that hard to write out, just had to make 'em cocky as balls and let fireworks fly.**_

_**Primary Characters (who survived):**_

_**Ahsoka Tano: Regarding Ahsoka, I am quite well aware that some of you are wishing she died in Temple Prime. Regardless of what you think of her in **_**The Clone Wars**_**, I like the character (if it needs work at times…), and well… I already yanked in Rex, and hey, Tiberium gave me a nice cover for her, and since I intend to, eventually write a Star Wars fanfic for an aftermath to the Clone Wars, I thought, 'hey, get some practice here.'**_

_**If you're wondering why people didn't react to her hostilely until after Tib War Three… well, first, we never really saw a civilian perspective until then, so that was out. Second, the military is, what can I say, used to her. Of course, the Scrin invasion switched things up a lot.**_

_**I'm quite aware I've probably screwed the character up, well, I figured that 14 years without Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader by now) would get her more cautious… never mind growing up. Speaking of that, as a note, she's still got the same appearance (barring the fact she now dons GDI Commando armor), due to Tiberium radiation affecting her differently. So yeah, she still looks like a later teen (maybe she's tall for her species?), but really, about… hell, over 30 by this point, just doesn't look it. And yes, by the time of Tiberian Dusk, she's a Commander. She'll be the main perspective in the next story.**_

_**Rex: What can I say, Rex was the placeholder for us players. He was also a challenge to write well, because we just don't get enough samples of his personality, and rarely see him outside of the Clone Wars. I figured that, since he's had 14 years away from the Clone Army, he'd of adjusted and gained more independence… but can easily fall back on old programming (for lack of a better term) if he needed to… and he did.**_

_**I'm aware Rex probably wouldn't of pushed the button on Temple Prime, but then again… Rex couldn't delay it any longer, and he did all he could. And it was also a key plot point, so it had to happen.**_

_**Oh, as a note, he officially got a last name when he married Sarah, but honestly, he doesn't use it. "Rex Granger?" Come on, that doesn't have a good ring to it. :P**_

_**Factions & Arsenals:**_

_**Several Arsenals were modified. The GDI arsenal seems to of been spliced the most, but that is, mostly, due to the fact that Rex and/or Ahsoka and/or another Commander usually commanded a mix of Steel Talon, Mainline, and ZOCOM. However, the following notes should be made.**_

_**Zone Troopers are also in ZOCOM's arsenal, whereas in game the Zone Raider **_**replaced**_** the Zone Trooper.**_

_**Orbital Bombardment support power only fires one slug and is faster in recharge, but Steel Talon only. Think something along the lines of the original Ion Cannon in targeting, one target, but basically dead.**_

_**Tiberium Field Suits are, although priority ZOCOM, outfitted to any GDI group heading into a Red Zone.**_

_**Regarding Nod, particularly the Black Hand, barring the landing on Australia, the Black Hand uses its elite, excusive arsenal in my version of C&C that I'm writing. Here's some notes.**_

_**The Black Hand Arsenal, or it's primary arsenal, is as follows:**_

_**Infantry:**_

_**Black Hand Disciples: Black Hand unit as in game, but as the mainline infantry.**_

_**Black Hand Missile Disciple: Within the Black Hand, they replace the Militant Rocket Squad.**_

_**Fanatics: As in game.**_

_**Confessors: Revamped into a second Tier unit that is much more of a leader group than anything.**_

_**Shadow Team: Added back into the arsenal, but no glider packs.**_

_**Commando: As is in game.**_

_**Vehicles:**_

_**No Raider Buggies or Attack Bikes.**_

_**Scorpion Tanks: better armor and a heavier cannon though**_

_**Flame Tanks: As is.**_

_**Harvester: Stealth once more**_

_**Specter: Stealth once more.**_

_**Stealth Tank: Re-added to the arsenal.**_

_**MCV: As is in game.**_

_**Purifier Warmech: As is, but has two beam cannons rather than one.**_

_**Air: Doesn't use beyond transport and the occasional Venom.**_

_**A note, the Black Hand has the Tiberium Core Rockets upgrade replaced with Dragonfire Rockets, basically, same thing, but leaves flame on a target for a while after, and applies to the Missile Disciple. Figured flaming rockets would fit the Black Hand more than green glowy ones.**_

_**The Scrin:**_

_**Reaper-17 and Traveler-59 are not modified at all, but I have any Scrin deploy the Mechapede… I'm sorry, but as interesting a unit as it is, I really would have a hard as hell time describing it and using it in this story, especially the varied arsenal. Assume it is used in the background or something.**_

_**Also, the Scrin will be back… but when we will find out once C&C 4 comes out.**_


End file.
